Java Platform Takes Another Quantum Leap With Major Improvements In Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), Web Services, and Application Creation -- Sun Microsystems today launched the Java Platform, Enterprise Edition 5, the most significant update to enterprise Java technology in six years. Java EE 5 is the industry's premier platform for enterprise web services creation and deployment and is established in the Java developer community as the most popular choice for Java technology and web services development. 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. The Java EE 5 platform (Web site) makes development easier, faster and more cost-efficient and provides support for all of the latest SOA technologies, including a major revision to the programming model, updated web services standards and simplified web application creation. The 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. Backward compatibility of Java EE 5 with previous versions of the Java Enterprise platform preserves the skill sets of current Java Enterprise developers and protects investments in enterprise applications. "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 Karen Padir, vice president of Enterprise Java Platform at Sun. "Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 9.0 is the first robust, commercial, Java EE 5 compliant application server and is 100 percent derived from 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. 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. Pricing and Availability 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 is available as a free download on the Solaris Operating System, Linux and Windows platforms at Sun's Developer Network (Web site). 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: its Web site. In addition, Sun is offering a special promotion for Sun Developer Network members where they can save 50 percent when they buy a 5-pack of service incidents for Sun Developer Expert Assistance.