Sun Microsystems Unveils Java Tools to Streamline Development of Dot-com Applications - Java Message Queue 1.0 and Java Blend 2.0 - Product Announcement

Edge: Work-Group Computing Report, Nov 15, 1999

Sun Microsystems, Inc. Tuesday announced two new Java tools that provide powerful services to help reduce the costs and time required to create dot-com applications, while leveraging valuable IT staff resources. Java Blend 2.0 software is an easy to use data access tool that connects distributed applications with multiple sources of data. Java Blend reduces development time by eliminating the need to write, test and debug JDBC code. Java Message Queue 1.0 enterprise messaging software provides a standard way for business applications to communicate and exchange information.

"Sun is providing Java developers with tools that can streamline and automate the development of distributed applications," said Anne Thomas, Senior Analyst, Patricia Seybold Group. "Java Blend and Java Message Queue allow Java developers to focus on application development rather than on interoperability and networking with data sources and business applications."

Java Blend 2.0 software meets the reliability, scalability and ease of use requirements of Java developers who need a more cost-effective solution than their current option of writing JDBC code. Java Blend software includes transparent persistence capabilities that allow developers access to tables, attributes and rows without writing any JDBC or SQL code. Transparent persistence is one of the key concepts in the emerging Java Data Objects (JDO) standard which is a data access standard proposed as part of the Java Community Process. Java Blend software maps relational database tables into Java objects and eliminates impedance mismatch, the gap that occurs when mapping two-dimensional data with Java objects.

Java Message Queue 1.0 software allows developers to focus on creating business logic rather than worrying about deployment topologies and data communication variables. Java Message Queue software is a full production implementation of the open-standard Java Message Service (JMS) 1.0.1 specification, which provides significant improvements over traditional process-oriented messaging systems. Java Message Queue provides reliable communications between application components in a distributed environment. Using the publish and subscribe model, Java Message Queue software intelligently routes messages throughout the network for efficient bandwidth usage.

"Java developers creating dot-com applications need to provide access to information from many sources and interoperate with multiple business applications across disparate systems," said Jon Williams, director of marketing, Internet Applications and Performance Tools, Sun Microsystems. "Java Blend and Java Message Queue speed the development of Java applications by eliminating the need for developers to write their own data access and application interoperability code."

Java Blend - Transparent Data Access Java Blend 2.0 makes it easier to build and deploy applications that provide scalable, transparent data access services. Key features include:

--Cache, query and transaction management as well as optimistic or pessimistic concurrency control capabilities to ensure reliable data integrity

-- Multithreading and multiple database connections to scale to the needs of the application environments

-- An easy-to-use, automated, bi-directional mapping interface and an abstract model of Java to database access so that developers can focus on business logic

-- Works in 2-tier, 3-tier and n-tier environments and provides fully customizable mapping for flexibility during deployment

-- Use blob datatype to create applications supporting video, audio, and graphics

Java Message Queue - Application Interoperability Across the Network Java Message Queue software is a powerful standalone messaging solution that delivers high performance, fast response times and offers developers the following services:

-- Simplified scalability for both routers and clients, easing system administration tasks

-- Property-based routing for intelligent path selection and bandwidth utilization

-- Federated hub/spoke model to support flexibility in deployment topologies

-- Fast performance for high volume transaction environments

-- Mix of hot and cold standby capabilities for fault tolerance flexibility

-- Testing, debugging, and monitoring tools to simplify the development process

Pricing and Availability Java Blend 2.0 software will be available this quarter in configurations from 1 to 250 seat license configurations, for the Solaris Operating Environment and Windows NT. Java Blend software is orderable now at $1,195 per developer seat. Customers can download binaries or order a CD for a 30-day Try and Buy version of Java Blend 2.0. Registered education customers can order a ScholarPac software configuration at $195 per developer seat. A free upgrade to Java Blend 2.0 is available for registered Java Blend 1.0 customers. A localized version of Java Blend 2.0 for Japan is expected to be available in Q1 2000.