Sun Microsystems Inc has tightened its control of the Java platform, reversing its decision to submit Java to the standards body, the European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA). I’ve decided we will not submit Java to ECMA, said Pat Sueltz, head of Sun’s software division in her keynote speech at the Java Business Expo in New York yesterday. Sun’s reason, she said, is that it wants to ensure that all Java applications will run on all the various Java platforms; the implication being that a version of Java piloted by the ECMA may differ from the straight Sun code.
Whatever the reason, the decision is an embarrassing turnabout for Sun which pulled out of directly submitting Java to the International Standards Organization in the summer, because it feared it would lose direct control of the code. The ECMA was seen as a more accommodating standardization partner. However, similar fears now appear to have tripped up the standardization process once again.
