At the other end of the scale from its embedded Java virtual machine – see separate story – Hewlett-Packard Co will this week spin out its plan for developing and marketing Java for use in enterprise-class systems. However there’s little of substance to speak of beyond the optimization products HP has previously announced and its plan to elevate the role of Java for the enterprise is highly conservative compared to the aggressive strategies of ‘gang of four’ companies such as IBM, Sun, Oracle and other vendors. HP told us that in its view the Java core is still crippled; the technology has yet to happen in the marketplace; and adds that it is not willing to buy into the market hype. It says its enterprise Java strategy is a reality check to all of the Java fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD). It has not, for example, formulated any plan to support the Enterprise Java Beans component-based application development model which will be heavily touted by the gang of four at this week’s JavaOne show. It wants EJB to be developed under the auspices of the Object Management Group, not by companies with proprietary interests and will offer support for EJB products through partners. Moreover, in view of reports that its embedded Java virtual machine is at odds with Sun, HP’s server division is repeating the mantra we are totally compatible with Sun’s Java, to anyone that’ll listen. It says it is not doing business in a Java-only world and, in addition to fine-tuning the Java virtual machine (JVM) for HP-UX systems, the company is also using a Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler of its own to translate the bytecode into native machine code. The Native Compiler is due for release late in 1998. HP says what it calls its Dynamic Optimization Technology will come close to native performance. HP is also integrating The Open Group’s TurboJ compiler – development of which it financed – with its HP-UX systems, and has licensed core compiler technology from Tower Technologies for a new compiler (CI No 3,354). HP is tweaking Sun’s Java Workshop for HP-UX by adding its own plug-ins and will build it onto its HP-UX Unix virtual machine. It is also selling Workshop on Windows NT. It talks about end-to-end Java but doesn’t appear to have a plan for its own Java server of any description. Instead it has got relationships with server-side Java ISVs such as Ariba Technologies. HP says it will focus its Java development on server-side ERP, supply chain, electronic commerce, management, resources and operations applications but admits this means little more than working with the established application vendors in these sectors. It has organized a Java Environment Tuning Center at its Cupertino, California
