BEA Systems Inc [BEA] and Sun Microsystems Inc [SUNW] have approached a number of big-name Java ISVs, including Borland Software Corp [BORL], seeking to build the framework.

A framework would potentially enable greater portability of add-ins across different vendors’ integrated development environment (IDEs), potentially reducing development costs to ISVs building plug-ins.

This would mean their software could work across competing products and ISVs would no longer need to undertake bespoke customization work to fit each vendors’ offerings.

On a strategic footing, a more unified Java IDE market could help vendors breath life into enterprise Java.

The market for new Java applications was static in 2003 while development for .NET grew, as Microsoft [MSFT] launched both a new version of its Visual Studio.NET IDE and Widows operating system that further integrates .NET.

Whilst Microsoft is renowned for its focus in marketing Visual Studio.NET and Windows, Java suffers lack of focus as ISVs push their own products. A framework could help bring more unity to Java IDEs helping developers push back against Microsoft and .NET.

However, this is not the first time Java vendors have attempted to open up the IDE.

IBM Corp [IBM] is backing the Eclipse open source tools workbench, for both Java a C/C++. Eclipse garnered controversy, though, adopting the Standard Widget Toolkit (SWT) rather than Swing, used by BEA and Sun in Java.

BEA and Sun, meanwhile, have been approached by Eclipse to join the organization.

The work now in discussion at BEA and Sun is believed to have originated when Oracle Corp [ORCL] by last November published, Java Community Process (JCP) JSR 198. This proposed Java API would provide interoperability between Eclipse and non-Eclipse IDEs.

At the time Oracle said its goal for JSR 198 was that if programmers choose not to use the company’s own JDeveloper IDE when building applications, then their chosen IDE would run efficiently on Oracle’s runtime.

Sun, meanwhile, backed JSR 198 when announced in November.

This article was based on material originally published by ComputerWire.