Sun Microsystems has used its JavaOne conference this
week to unveil a roadmap for its Java programming language, with
web services and greater XML support a key aim.
The upcoming Java Enterprise Edition release 5 will include
simplified web services support and more support for web services
standards.
A beta of version 5 is due in the last quarter of this year,
with the final release planned for the first quarter of 2006.
Sun said Java EE 5 would allow web services to be built with
just a few lines of code.
The forthcoming Java Standard Edition 6 platform, codenamed
Mustang, is due in 2006. This will feature XML and web services
enhancements, along with desktop improvements.
A web services client stack will enable clients to easily
connect to web services, and Java SE 6 will also include a revamped
XML stack and a new scripting engine.
Sun said the look and feel of the system would match Microsoft’s
next generation Windows Longhorn platform, which will also appear
next year.
Java SE 7, codenamed Dolphin, is due in early 2008.