Sun Microsystems Inc. will roll out major enhancements to its developer tools for the Java programming language and will contribute next-generation computing desktop technologies to the open-source community, the computer maker said Sunday.
The moves, Sun said, are aimed at broadening the use of Java, a programming language used to create applications that can run on computers using different operating systems and microprocessors such as Sun's Ultrasparc and Intel Corp.-compatible chips.
Sun will make the announcements at its JavaOne conference in San Francisco this week that is expected to draw 12,000 software developers, Santa Clara, California-based Sun said.
By aiming to boost the number of software developers who use Java, Sun hopes to sell more of its computer servers and data storage systems. Recently, Sun started offering some of its servers for free if customers sign contracts that provide support and license to use its developer tools and other software products.
The company has suffered 12 straight quarters of declining revenues and a string of losses since the burst of the dot-com and telecommunications bubbles in late 2000. It has also faced stiff competition from rival computer makers International Business Machines Corp. at the high end of the server market and from Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc. at the lower end of the market.
Sun is also pushing hard with its desktop strategy, having signed recent deals with the Chinese government and others to distribute millions of copies of its Linux-based Java Desktop System, which is an alternative to Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system. Contributing technology from Project Looking Glass and Java 3D are part of that effort, Sun said.
Sun, which at last year's JavaOne sought to establish Java as a consumer brand and then revamped its coffee cup logo, this year wants to establish Java as a solid brand for corporate computing and information technology, a Sun executive said.
"Now we're pushing it beyond the consumer realm," said Ingrid Van Den Hoogen, a head of marketing for Java at Sun, in a telephone interview, of Java.com, the Website it unveiled last year to boost the brand's reach.
The company now has about 4.2 million Java developers, up from 3.0 million one year ago, Van Den Hoogen said, aiming that Sun's goal is for 10 million in five years or less.
On Monday, Van Den Hoogen said Sun will announce Java 2 Standard Edition 5.0, which carries enhancements to speed of development, debugging of software and increased programmer productivity, and will be available by the end of the year. It also adds better graphics for software developers, Sun said.
Sun will also announce the widespread availability of its Sun Java Studio Creator programming tool. It is analogous to Microsoft Corp.'s Visual Studio and Visual basic software programming tools. Both aim to make it easier to write new software programs.
Sun also said it will contribute its Project Looking Glass and Java 3D technology to the open-source software community, of which Linux is a part, where developers collaborate with each other using freely available code to make software programs.
Project Looking Glass is software that provides a three-dimensional computer desktop environment with transparent windows, rotation of objects and other features. Java 3D is a piece of software code known as an application program interface, or API. It was used recently by NASA for its command and control system for the Mars Rover mission.