IBM is adding support for Enterprise Java Beans (EJB) to its VisualAge for Java development tool and WebSphere Java application server. IBM is now claiming the credit for writing the majority of the specifications for the EJB server-side component model, with Sun Microsystems Inc, Novell Inc and Sybase Inc doing most of the rest of the leg-work. There are three versions of the WebSphere application server family, the last two of which will support EJB. The standard edition 2.0, which is available now, is based on IBM’s version of the Apache web server. It is the basis for version 2.0 of the advanced edition of WebSphere, which adds the EJB support and the NetObjects Inc Fusion web site management tools. This version is meant for department-wide application deployment. The third version of the WebSphere application server is the enterprise version, meant for enterprise-wide application deployment, which IBM now says will be available mid-way through 1999. That will also support EJB, as well as include IBM’s TXSeries distributed transactional application environment and Component Broker, as previously announced (10/23/98). WebSphere advanced edition 2.0 will be available by the end of the year for Solaris, Windows NT and AIX for $6,000 and later for OS/2. The standard edition 2.0 will cost $800 for the same platforms but will soon be integrated free of charge into OS/390 and AS/400. VisualAge for Java with EJB support will be available by the year-end, but there’s no process yet for that.
