IBM Extends Java Support, Unveils New Enterprise Solutions

IBM added support for Java to some of its key products and outlined a range of new Java solutions for the enterprise today at the JavaOne developer conference in San Francisco.


IBM said it will deliver Java support in its key enterprise software server products, along with support for Enterprise JavaBeans technology across IBM software middleware and application servers.


The company also unveiled an innovative Web search facility from IBM Research that hunts down Java resources, and a new version of Java for its S/390 mainframes.


IBM is demonstrating many of these solutions at JavaOne this week, where it is joined by customer Charles Schwab, which is making extensive use of Java in its traditional and online trading systems.


Enterprise JavaBeans is a new Java specification that is being widely
adopted in the industry. IBM announced it is adopting Enterprise
JavaBeans as a unifying component model across its software middleware and
application servers to make it easier for customers to build, deploy and
manage the new generation of e-business applications on a platform that
best meets their requirements.


With Enterprise JavaBeans, companies can move forward to the cross-platform benefits of network computing with Java without needing to modify their existing systems. IBM was a major contributor to the development of the specification for Enterprise JavaBeans.


ServletExpress is a new software plug-in from IBM that extends existing Web
servers to become Java application servers, which are an effective platform for deploying and managing Web applications across a network. ServletExpress
works with a wide range of Web server products, including Lotus Domino Go
Webserver, Apache, and offerings from Netscape and Microsoft. A beta version of ServletExpress is available now for download.


For the Java development community, IBM is announcing jCentral, a search engine for locating and sharing information like Java code, applets, JavaBeans, newsgroup articles, and tutorials. This targeted information is intended to help programmers speed up development cycles, improve time to market and expand networking and marketplace opportunities by leveraging the resources of the online Java community.


Written primarily in Java by members of IBM’s Research team, jCentral
consists of a Web crawler, search engine, and database tool that currently
contains more than 100,000 distinct pieces of Java information. jCentral
is available at no charge as a new feature on IBM’s Java Web site.


IBM also announced today that the new release of IBM San Francisco will provide developers with a framework to rapidly build order processing and warehouse/inventory management applications. San Francisco is designed to provide developers with business process components to more quickly create customizable, server-side applications.


In addition, San Francisco provides developers with national language
support, performance enhancements, and support for additional deployment
platforms and data formats. To help developers become accustomed to
working with application frameworks and business process components, IBM also created new San Francisco Technology Centers, and is providing San Francisco specialists in selected IBM Solution Partnership Centers around the world.


IBM said it will also ship in April the Java Developer Kit (JDK) 1.1.4 for the OS/390, which will offer new enhancements to help developers build scalable applications with Java on the S/390 platform.


This new offering continues to allow S/390 to participate in the write once, run anywhere Java paradigm, thus allowing Java applications to be brought to the S/390 platform. The JDK 1.1.4 will include an enhanced “Garbage Collection” component designed to improve the scalability of Java applications and allow developers to take better advantage of the scalability capabilities of S/390.


The JDK for OS/390 is fully compliant and equivalent in function to other JDK 1.1.4 offerings. Java for OS/390 will continue to be offered from the S/390 Java Web site.

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