GOVERNMENT

Sun Microsystems, the inventor and leading advocate of Java technology, announced that it has posted its next version of Java 2 Platform Standard Edition (J2SE) to the developer community for early review and developer involvement. Available as part of a new project launched this week on java.net, this marks the first time Sun has made source and binary code bundles for a J2SE release available while it is still under active development. This move will provide an unprecedented opportunity for developers worldwide to participate in the innovation of the Java platform. "Last June we experimented with a transparent development process by releasing snapshots of the J2SE 5.0 software early and it was a great success," said Jeff Jackson, vice president Java platform development and Java tools. "Inspired by the enthusiasm we found in the Java development community and their desire to participate earlier in the process, we are taking it a few steps further by releasing source code, under the simplified Java Research License, and an open community project launched on java.net." Java developers can join the new Java platform project on java.net to download build 12 of the next version of J2SE source code and participate in developer forums. In the future, java.net is expected to enable a streamlined process for patch submissions. Sun is working through details on how these bug fixes and other non-JSR code from the community will be managed. As committed at the JavaOne conference in June of this year, Sun has taken steps to simplify the Java technology license to give easier access to non-profit and academic developers. Today Sun has implemented this simplified license, known as the Java Research License (JRL). Simpler than the previous Sun Community Source Licensing (SCSL) that has been in force for Java technology for nearly six years, the JRL provides developers and researchers with greater flexibility. Sun is also considering adjustments to the Java distribution license to continue to ease developer access. To learn more, visit the J2SE 6 project on java.net at http://j2se.dev.java.net/ , or visit the blog of J2SE Chief Engineer, Mark Reinhold at http://weblogs.java.net/blog/mreinhold .