Ever want to invent your own computer language?

WebGain Wednesday says it is now offering the popular Java Compiler Compiler (JavaCC) as a free download.

The Santa Clara-based company, which specializes in e-Business development environments, got the technology during its acquisition of Metamata.

The software allows developers to automatically generate Java-code language parsers from grammar specifications. In addition to the parser generator itself, JavaCC provides other standard capabilities related to parser generation such as tree building (via a tool called JJTree included with JavaCC), actions and debugging among other things.

"JavaCC strongly supports the industry trend toward standardizing the syntax of important data formats such as XML," says Sriram Sankar, formerly Metamata's president and CEO, and now a key member of WebGain's engineering team. "By giving developers a powerful tool for automating the creation of Java code that can recognize a standardized language structure, Java CC will play a valuable role in the evolution of open systems."

Sankar, who created JavaCC while at Sun Microsystems, says that JavaCC works with any Java Virtual Machine (JVM) version 1.1 or greater, is one of the first products to obtain 100 percent Pure Java certification, and is compatible with systems running Linux, Solaris, HP-UX, Irix and Windows.

"JavaCC's ability to run on a variety of platforms, including the most popular ones, is a powerful testimonial to the 'Write Once Run Anywhere' aspect of Java," says Sankar.

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