Revolutionary Java Platform Enterprise Edition 5 Launched In Hong Kong
Published 12th June 2006
New platform boasts major improvements in Service Oriented Architecture, web services, .Net interoperability and application creation
Sun Microsystems, the creator and leading advocate of Java technology, today unveiled the new Java Platform, Enterprise Edition 5, in front of software developers attending Java Certification Day at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Java EE 5 is the most significant update to enterprise Java technology in six years and extends the industry's premier platform for enterprise web services creation and deployment.
The Java EE 5 platform makes development easier, faster and more cost-efficient with all of the latest SOA technologies, including a major revision to the programming model, updated web services standards and simplified web application creation. Sun is also making available a collection of Web Services Interoperability Technology (WSIT) components to help drive interoperability between the Java platform and the .Net framework.
"Java EE 5 takes the drudgery out of creating applications, reduces the time spent worrying about enterprise Java plumbing and allows developers to concentrate on business logic," said Simon Leung, General Manager of Sun Microsystems Hong Kong. "It is fully backward compatible with previous versions of the Java Enterprise platform, which preserves the skill sets of current Java Enterprise developers and protects investments in enterprise applications."
The Enterprise Java Platform has been downloaded more than five million times and is supported by more than 30 licensees that market 28 Java EE compatible-products. It provides the infrastructure for mission- critical applications that support large swathes of the Hong Kong economy, particularly in the financial services, transport and logistics, telecommunications and public sectors.
The Java EE 5 platform consists of a Reference Implementation (RI), Technology Compatibility Kit (TCK) and Software Development Kit (SDK) that includes the free Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 9.0
developed in open source through Project GlassFish, part of the OpenJava EE community.
The Java EE 5 SDK includes new support for Business Process Execution Language (BPEL) and business intelligence, allowing orchestration of complex business processes and workflows, spanning web services, systems, people, and companies. The use of WSIT components will enable SOA implementations that span Java and .Net platforms.
Also available with the Java EE 5 SDK are preview versions of the SOA Starter Kit and NetBeans Enterprise Pack 5.5. The SOA Starter Kit includes the OpenJava ESB beta, which provides a standard way to implement component-based services and enterprise integration frameworks based on web services protocols and open standards.
The NetBeans Enterprise Developer Pack 5.5 gives developers access to tools that enable early support for development of Java EE 5 applications including web modules, Enterprise Java Beans 3.0 modules and the Java Persistence API. Sun is simultaneously releasing a NetBeans 5.5 plug-in for WSIT to help facilitate the development of cross-platform web services.
WSIT components are part of the ongoing web services interoperability efforts between Sun and Microsoft and are being delivered through the open source OpenJava EE community as part of Project Glassfish. They have been tested extensively with Microsoft Windows Communication Foundation and provide enhanced security, messaging, quality-of-service and metadata support. This means WIST enables Java technology-based applications to integrate and interoperate with the .Net framework -- above and beyond the WS-I Basic Profiles.
The Java EE 5 SDK, Reference Implementation and TCK are available now. The new SDK includes documentation and tools for developers to learn Java EE 5 and accelerate the creation of new enterprise applications. It available as a free download on the Solaris Operating System, Linux and Windows platforms at Sun's Developer Network (http://java.sun.com/javaee/downloads).
Developers using Java EE SDK 5.0 or Sun Developer Tools and technologies to leverage Java EE 5, can get support through Sun's new Sun Developer Expert Assistance service program at: http://developers.sun.com/services. In
addition, Sun is offering a special promotion for Sun Developer Network members where they can save 50 per cent when they buy a 5-pack of service incidents for Sun Developer Expert Assistance.