SUN'S Java language is set to become a new Internet standard after the company announced a sweeping series of licensing agreements last week. The agreements, with Microsoft, IBM, Apple, Hewlett Packard and others, were unveiled at Internet World (see top story) last Tuesday. All these companies plan to build Java into their own operating systems and products.
The accords are a crucial step for Sun Microsystems, because they have the potential to turn Java into being effectively the operating system for the Internet, much as Windows is for personal computers. Sun stock rose after the news.
Java lets developers write one program for all computer types, so a user could call up and run a Java based program on the Internet no matter what machine is used to connect to the network.
"Java accomplishes what has been considered by many to be the Holy Grail of computing, to enable software to run across all operating systems," said Alan Baratz, of JavaSoft, a Sun subsidiary.
He said the support for embedding Java in operating systems ranging from Microsoft's Windows to IBM's mainframes demonstrates unequivocal support for Java from virtually every operating systems provider.
The Java software is actually located on a network, so to run say, a spreadsheet, a computer user would not have to buy a spreadsheet program separately and load it onto the computer. Rather, the user would connect to the network and call up the Java spreadsheet application.
Larry Tessler, the widely respected head of Apple's Internet strategy, said that "Java is a critical piece of Internet technology. It will tend to level the playing field for operating systems.