Q and A: J2EE 1.4: The Gold Standard for Web Services

Q and A: J2EE 1.4: The Gold Standard for Web Services

November 24, 2003
by Mark Hapner, J2EE 1.4 Specification Lead and Web Services strategist, Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Q. What is the significance of J2EE 1.4? What does this mean to the community?

A. The J2EE 1.4 specification was unanimously approved by the JCP on November 12. This platform API is the result of the collaboration of companies and distinguished individuals who agreed to work together on standards under the JCP program, while competing on implementations in the marketplace. It is also the result of the contribution made by Web Services thought leaders to develop a gold standard for Web Services. (See the open letter to the Java Community at http://www.java.sun.com/j2ee). The J2EE 1.4 specification's significance lies in its full support of the WS-I Basic profile. With this support, J2EE is the most interoperable Web Services platform ever.

Given its broad interopearbility, the specification appeals to all categories of developers for many types of applications. This led Sun to license the specification under new terms that are friendly to non-profit and open source projects. This move will further position J2EE as the platform of choice for developers. To date, the J2EE platform has nearly four million downloads and over 30 licensees.

Q. What does the J2EE 1.4 SDK include?

A. The J2EE 1.4 SDK includes:

• The developer release of the Sun Java System Application Server 8 Platform Edition, which is the first J2EE 1.4-certified version of a fully-deployable application server
• The new J2EE 1.4 Blueprints, which include the Adventure Builder application Documentation, demos and examples

Q. When will the Sun Java System Application Server 8 Platform Edition be commercially available? When will the Standard and Enterprise Editions be released?

A. The J2EE 1.4 SDK already includes the developer release of Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 8. Sun will release the commercial version in Q1 of 2004. We also plan to release Sun Java System Application Server Standard Edition 8 and Sun Java System Application Server Enterprise Edition 8 later in 2004.

Q. Have any vendors decided to license the specification?

A. Yes, we are pleased to name Apache Software Foundation and JBoss Group as the first two licensees of the J2EE specification. Apache and JBoss have taken advantage of the new licensee terms for open source projects; their decision to license 1.4 will further popularize 1.4 and will increase adoption of J2EE through a broader community of developers.

Q. Where can I get the specification and the SDK? How much does it cost?

A. The J2EE 1.4 specification and SDK are available today as a free download on the Solaris Operating Environment and Windows platforms at Sun's Developer Network site: http://java.sun.com/j2ee/download.html.

Q. How does J2EE 1.4 fit into the Java Enterprise System?

A. The Sun Java Enterprise System uses J2EE as its foundation and will offer full support for J2EE 1.4 in future releases.

Q. Will Sun offer the J2EE 1.4 specification on Linux or x86?

A. Today, Sun is releasing the J2EE 1.4 SDK on Solaris, Linux and Windows. When the Java System Application Server Platform Edition 8 is released commercially, it will support Solaris, Linux, Windows, as well as Solaris x86.

Q. Will Sun open source its Application Server and Web Server?

A. Sun has been involved in the Open Source Community from the earliest days and has a strong record in the community. While we are constantly weighing our options regarding additional Open Source initiatives, at this time, there has been no decision to adopt an open source license for the J2EE Reference Implementation or any of the company's Application Server products.