Sun Microsystems has announced a Java Verification Programme for
testing enterprise applications.
The overall goal is to prevent the Java application market from
fracturing. Through the certification programme, Sun aims to
minimise the risk of incompatibility between application server
software products that comply with the Java 2 Enterprise Edition
(J2EE) standard.
The suite of tests and reference material allows independent
software vendors (ISVs) and corporate software developers to test
whether applications they design work with any J2EE application
server from any vendor.
A number of application server makers, including IBM, BEA Systems,
Oracle and Sun, have built application server software products
that are based on the standard J2EE specification.
However, some of these products include extensions to the basic
J2EE specification. As a result, an application designed
specifically for BEA's application server will not necessarily be
able to run on IBM's WebSphere Application Server.
Sun said only applications that use the generic J2EE specifications
will pass the Java Verification Programme.
David Harrah, a Java marketing manager at Sun said: "You want to
ensure that [J2EE] applications are portable across all these
different application servers."
Harrah said the Java Verification Programme would include a test
kit called the Java Application Verification Kit for the
Enterprise. This is intended to prevent any confusion in the
marketplace. Applications that adhere to the program can carry a
"Java Verified" brand and logo. Enterprise developers who build
applications that pass the verification tests will be able to
participate in Sun-sponsored co-marketing opportunities, the
company said.
Sun is also expected to release a similar test suite for
applications designed to run on J2ME (Java 2 Micro Edition)
platforms, a Java implementation designed for small computing
devices such as mobile phones. It has yet to set a date for that
release.