THE Java programming language has taken the computer industry by storm because it allows programmers both to create a single software program that can run on different computer systems and use the Internet to distribute programs. Now Lucent Technologies, recently spun-off from US telecommunications group AT&T, has unveiled a technology that it claims offers more than Java - although the similarities look more obvious than the differences.
Lucent's Inferno operating system and Limbo programming language will provide programmers with the same cross-platform capabilities as Java. Lucent says Inferno and Limbo have features that make it suitable for running the same application on a wide range of electronic devices, ranging from hand-held computers to large computer systems, in addition to games consoles and set-top TV cable boxes.
Mike Skarzynski, vice president and general manager of Lucent's Inferno business unit, says Inferno does not compete with Java although the two have strong similarities.
"Inferno wasn't inspired by Java. We started working on Inferno about a year ago because we saw a real need to solve some of the challenging issues facing network service providers and programmers. Programmers want to write a single application that is not constrained by the network or different hardware platforms," Skarzynski says.
The Inferno operating system is designed to be very small, requiring just one megabyte of memory, compared with operating systems such as Microsoft Windows 95 which require eight times as much. Inferno's small size makes it possible to fit into inexpensive computer devices such as set-top TV cable boxes and video games consoles.
It is designed to run on several hardware platforms, ranging from Intel to IBM PowerPC microprocessors. As with Java, this means programmers can create a single software program which runs on many devices, saving substantial programming time.
Lucent gives the example of an application of an interactive shopping catalogue. A user accessing that application with a standard modem and telephone line may see text and still pictures, but someone with a faster connection (such as a cable modem operating over cable TV networks) might receive video clips, text and audio. Meanwhile, the user of a hand-held computer with a small screen and maybe a slow wireless connection might simply see the text part of the catalogue. With Inferno the software developer would be able to create just one application instead of several different ones specific to each type of user.
Inferno and the Limbo programming language are currently available in early test versions with commercial release scheduled for the end of this year. But industry observers say Lucent has its work cut out in establishing the technology and attracting third-party software developers and hardware suppliers to support it.
"Inferno will attempt to go into many of the same markets that Java is in but it will face an uphill climb in trying to match the momentum behind Java," says Ross Scott Rubin, an analyst at US market research firm Jupiter Communications.
He says all the major operating system companies such as Microsoft, IBM, Novell and Apple Computer have pledged to include Java support within their operating systems. In addition, thousands of programmers are already working on creating Java-based programs.
"Inferno is very similar to a technology called Telescript from General Magic, of which AT&T was a big supporter not too long ago. AT&T hasn't had a great track record with Telescript which, unlike Inferno, started off with a reasonable amount of computer industry support," Rubin says.
Telescript has, so far, failed to fulfil its initial promise, and AT&T has scrapped a communications network featuring support for Telescript.
Skarzynski says a key factor behind the creation of Inferno was to develop a way of avoiding all the potential roadblocks that arise as different communications technologies converge. For example, the Internet is becoming a type of melting pot where interactive TV, telephone networks, and other communications networks are converging. This produces a jumble of different network and communications standards, hardware platforms and network hardware.
Currently, applications have to be developed that are specific to the hardware, operating system and network technologies involved. With Inferno, this jumble is resolved through the use of a cross-platform technology. But to establish Inferno, Lucent will have to create the same kind of excitement that Sun has built around Java - with a large number of industry partners. Skarzynski says Lucent will announce the first group of third-party Inferno supporters within the next few months.
Despite Lucent's claims that Inferno and Limbo aren't competing with Java, Jim Mitchell, chief technology officer at Sun's subsidiary JavaSoft, sees things differently - especially since it recently announced an operating system for Java called JavaOS.
"Inferno could do some damage to us by having competing things at the language level and the world being confused about it. I would say that JavaOS and Inferno are in competition. They are aiming at some markets, such as telephone switching systems, where we haven't been that heavily involved, but there are lots of other things - like telephones - where we will be in competition," Mitchell says.
Skarzynski believes there is plenty of room for both technologies. Inferno, he says, can be used to run Java applications and Lucent will offer Java support if customers request it.
Both Inferno and Java face another issue: can they fulfil the promise of cross-platform applications in commercial terms? "We'll have to wait and see," says Rubin. Management information systems managers care about cross-platform applications "but the average user doesn't".