Eleven software companies, led by Sun Microsystems and
BEA Systems, yesterday unveiled the Java Tools Community (JTC),
which is intended to promote interoperability of Java-based
tools.
Absent from the mix, however, are IBM and Borland Software. A
Borland official said the company participated in formation but
thought it was too early to announce the organisation.
Featuring members of the Java Community Process (JCP), the JTC
is touting the concept of "toolability", which is being defined as
a measurement of how easy it is to build tools around a particular
standard or technology. Developers through the work of the JTC will
be able to use Java technology more easily to build Java
applications, increasing the rate of Java adoption as a result,
according to JTC.
"One of the struggles that developers have is really having a
toolset that keeps up with the innovation that’s been going on in
Java," said Rich Main, director of Java Development Environments at
SAS, also a JTC member.
The JTC will work to make standard Java technology APIs
friendlier for tool development and will promote adoption and
advancement of Java Specification Requests.
JSR 198, pertaining to a standard for plug-ins to Java IDEs, is
one technology proposal that will be reviewed by the JTC. The
organisation will seek to resolve the issue of proprietary
techniques hindering use of tools.
Initially, the JTC will begin deliberations in an online
community fashion, but formal meetings also may be scheduled.
"What's been missing is a forum for tool community members to
get together to talk about all the JRS' that go on," said Sun's Joe
Keller, vice president of marketing for Java, web services, and
tools.
The JTC will seek to boost communications across the
"design-time" community, allowing tools companies, customers and
developers to access information and provide input when building or
extending design-time standards via the JCP.
As the JTC proceeds, there will be discussions of product
deliverables based on the organisation's work, said Dave Cotter,
director of developer marketing at BEA.
Other founding vendors include Compuware, Embarcadero
Technologies, Iopsis Software, JetBrains, Oracle and SAP.
JTC members stressed the organisation would complement the work
of the Eclipse open-source Java tools initiative, which has been
led by IBM, rather than boost any fragmentation. Organisations such
as SAP participate in both the JTC and Eclipse, JTC members
noted.
Keller stressed that the JTC would serve to unify the Java
community.
"I think it unifies the Java community in ways that haven't been
possible without an organisation like this," he said, adding that
efforts by Java suppliers to attract developers from the lucrative
Microsoft Visual Studio development base also would benefit.
JTC members stressed that Eclipse and JTC serve different
purposes. While JTC is focused on Java standards, Eclipse is about
building an open-source toolset, Keller said. Sun last month
declined an invitation to join Eclipse, saying the company was not
offered "an equitable share in mutual development".
Sun lobbied IBM about supporting the JTC, but IBM company
officials declined the offer believing that Eclipse, with 56
companies now on its board of stewards, already has the necessary
momentum to compete effectively against Visual Studio.
"We think Eclipse has a tremendous amount of momentum. We do not
see a lot of obstacles standing in Eclipse's way," said Bob Sutor,
IBM's director of WebSphere Software. "Frankly, we are more focused
on working against our number one competitor, Microsoft. We see it
boiling down to more of an Eclipse-based IDE world versus Visual
Studio."
Sutor added he does not believe there will be much
self-destructive competition between the Eclipse and JTC camps and
is confident both sides will work to make it clear that each will
serve to complement the other.
Borland executives said they have been involved in the group
since September, but felt this was not the appropriate time to
launch it.
"It's still in the early days. There's still a lot of work to be
done," said George Paolini, vice president and general manager of
Java Solutions at Borland.
However, he admitted that Borland would consider joining in the
future if the group solidifies its road map and direction.
"The mechanics are not in place today," he said. "I want the JTC
to push the JCP, but I want there to be a structure in place in
which the JCP is accountable to the JTC and vice versa."
Some analysts do not think it is necessary for IBM and Borland
to join the JTC to make it an estimable player in the tools
market. IBM should only join if its only goal is to better Java as
a framework.
"If IBM's goal is the betterment of Java as a framework and as
an approach to development and deployment, [it] should join. But if
[IBM wants] Eclipse to be the dominant IDE to drive more sales over
to their runtime then they should not. [That decision] would cast
light on IBM's goals," said Dana Gardner, senior analyst at The
Yankee Group.
IBM officials "may talk the Java talk but they are really
walking the WebSphere walk", Gardner added.
SAP's Michael Bechauf, vice president of NetWeaver Standards at
the company, sought to dispel any perception that Eclipse was
building a version of Java different from the one accepted by the
Java community.
"I can't really see why Eclipse would be seen as a second Java,"
Bechauf said.
Paul Krill and Tom Sullivan write for
InfoWorld