Straight after launching the upgrade to its Java Card application programming interface at the Java One conference last week, Sun Microsystems Inc’s JavaSoft Unit has got major Smart Card businesses pledging their support for Java Card 2.0. The programming interface will make it possible to develop Smart Card applications using Java tools. The companies include Citibank Corp, Visa International Inc, First Union National Bank, Smart Card manufacturers Gemplus SA, Schlumberger SA, Giesecki & Devrient America Inc, Integrity Arts Inc and Bull Personal Transactions Systems SA; chip vendors Hitachi Ltd, Motorola Inc; Toshiba Corp and secure transactions software firm Verifone Inc. Originally launched last year (CI No 3,057), the interface has also just received support from the NetWork Computer Reference Profile’s OpenCard Framework (CI No 3,130),which is proposing a standard for Smart Cards on NetWork Computers to store user configurations and personal information, as opposed to electronic commerce.
