by Dana Gardner

From...

(IDG) -- The leading proponents of two of the hottest emerging technologies in IT -- Java and Linux -- will link arms this week.

At the Java Developers Conference in San Jose, Calif., IBM will announce the free general availability of a Java Software Developer's Kit 1.18-compliant Java virtual machine (JVM) for the Linux operating system, with performance that exceeds that of JVMs running on Windows NT, IBM officials said.

Meanwhile, Sun Microsystems is preparing to release in early 2000 a Java2-compliant JVM for Linux that brings the performance, functions, and Java HotSpot features of the latest Java specifications to the Linux community, according to sources close to Sun Microsystems.

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These technologies -- along with a spate of tools and compilers from IBM and Inprise -- will make it easier to deploy Java applications on Linux servers and to port existing Java applications to Linux.

"Being able to run thousands of Java programs on the Linux OS without modification is a very compelling reason for our customers to consider Linux as their platform of choice," said Jeff Barca-Hall, chief technology officer at Inprise.

IBM is also at work on a Java2 JVM for Linux. But Big Blue, which is broadly supporting Linux in its products and consulting services, chose to first deliver a current JVM based on Java Development Kit (JDK) 1.18.

"We're not ready to put out the Java2 version yet, so we'll make the JDK 1.18 offering something to deploy in the interim," said Jeff Roberts, a Java marketing executive at IBM, in Austin, Texas.

Sun is also working with the Blackdown Porting Group to bring Java2 to Linux.

The JDK 1.18 Linux JVM is now available for free download at IBM's DeveloperWorks site. Moreover, IBM is now granting redistribution rights for the JVM to independent software vendors.

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Java developers should see the number of tools available for Linux increase significantly following IBM's embrace of the platform.

"Developers need this to happen, and the Blackdown efforts were not going as fast and as well as was hoped," said Sandra Potter, an analyst at the Aberdeen Group, in Boston. "This will push the acceptance for both Linux and Java. It will be a win-win [situation]."

Developers see the JDKs as a way to reduce their reliance on Windows NT as a development environment.

"I usually use Linux, but still need to go to Windows NT just to get better Java performance," said Mark Watson, a Java programmer, consultant, and author, in Sedona, Ariz. "With the JDKs and Borland tools on Linux, I will have to boot up Windows very infrequently."

The Java and Linux kinship should also give Linux an enhanced presence in the developer community.

"The shift that occurs when the new JDKs arrive is that Linux becomes a viable platform for application development on a broader scale. Clearly, Windows NT doesn't disappear, and it probably will continue to expand. But this accelerates the Linux development and deployment market," said Dave Kelly, an analyst at the Hurwitz Group, in Framingham, Mass.

Sun ramps up JVMs

Sun's Java virtual machines for Java2, Standard Edition, Version 1.3, will include improvements over Version 1.2.

• HotSpot client virtual machine

• 25 percent smaller footprint

• 40 percent faster start-up time

• Doubling of speed for Java foundation class controls

• Better graphics capabilities

Dana Gardner is an InfoWorld editor at large based in New Hampshire. Ed Scannell contributed to this article.