Java 2 Standard Edition (J2SE) 6.0, codenamed Mustang, is not due until 2006 and comes hard on the heels of J2SE 5.0 released earlier this year.
Sun said, however, that it was releasing code early because it wants to increase visibility and tackle issues like bug fixes that would be otherwise overlooked.
Vice president and Java platform team Sun fellow Graham Hamilton, called the decision a radical step. [We are] releasing binary and source, so developers can get their hands on code in very early release, he said.
Among Mustang’s planned features is support for Microsoft Corp’s delayed Longhorn operating system. Sun wants to ensure J2SE applications look natural and ensure co-existence between Java and Microsoft’s Common Language Runtime (CLR).
There are plumbing issues. We know Longhorn will be important to the Java developer base from day one, Hamilton said. Longhorn will be a relatively large change, and we don’t want those guys to get left behind.
Mustang will integrate the Web Services Interoperability (WS-I) organization’s Basic Profile, currently part of J2SE’s cousin Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) 1.4, while Sun wishes to also remove the complexity from programming J2SE applications.
