Microsoft is making its Java Virtual Machine (JVM) a standard part
of Windows XP in an attempt to end a legal dispute with rival Sun
Microsystems.
A JVM is software that enables users to run applications written in
Java, the programming language created by Sun Microsystems. Windows
XP shipped without Java support but included a download-on-demand
feature, under which the JVM is automatically downloaded when
Windows needs it.
Sun filed a private federal antitrust suit against Microsoft in
March, accusing the software maker of using its monopoly in the
market for PC operating systems to undermine the success of Java.
In response, Microsoft is now adding Java to XP, said Jim Cullinan,
a spokesman for Microsoft.
"In order to remove this legal issue, we are no longer going to
offer the download feature but instead make JVM part of the default
installation of XP through Service Pack 1," Cullinan said. That
first update to Windows XP is scheduled for release in the second
half of this year. Service Pack 1 also features security updates
and compatibility fixes, most of them already available as separate
downloads.
However, the JVM will not be available with Windows indefinitely.
From January 2004 Microsoft will not be allowed to change any of
the code in its JVM because of an agreement with Sun, Cullinan
said. "Therefore we will no longer offer Java in Windows from
January of 2004," he said.
Sun called Microsoft's "about-face decision" a win for consumers
and software developers who work in Java. However, the company
derided Microsoft's promise to cease distribution of a Java runtime
in two years, calling it an effort "to deny the Java platform's
access to Microsoft's monopoly distribution channels".
Sun also noted that Microsoft is using its own JVM rather than the
later versions of the technology developed by Sun - part of the
crux of the companies' litigation. Sun promised to maintain a free,
downloadable Java runtime resource.