Observation: Java has a slight advantage. NET still has the opportunity

"Sadie Network News" Both sides of the ongoing legal disputes and media hype so that Microsoft and Sun became the focus of the industry. With Microsoft. NET products, the struggle between the two sides is also escalating.

Although the confrontation between Sun's Java and Microsoft's. NET is exacerbated by Microsoft's not supporting Java in Windows XP, some industry analysts believe that Java still has a strong vitality. Hess, a senior analyst at Gartner, says Java's maturity will make it a leading development technology. It is the first application of the object-oriented
Technology, has a good component model, but also is a multi-platform technology.

Compete with. Net

At Microsoft's antitrust hearing, Sun's strategy director, Jonathan Schwartz, said Microsoft would use its windows and IE browsers to promote. NET services in the market, so that Java could not compete equally with. Net.

However, the results of the survey show that Java is still dominant. Gartner's recent survey showed that 80% of companies surveyed said they had deployed Java, most of them willing to use Java technology in the development of enterprise-class applications that run critical tasks.

Yankee Group senior analyst Rob Perry that Jsee (Java 2 Enterprise Edition) can enter the enterprise market. He also noted that Microsoft's bad record of meeting corporate needs would make Java profit. While Microsoft has made some progress, he says, some aspects of it are not as good as Java, especially on UNIX platforms used by most businesses.

Compatibility is key

Gartner's Hess points out that. NET can only run on the Windows platform is its biggest disadvantage compared to Java. Java, he says, can work with code written in all different languages and can run on all platforms. NET is just a technology on the Windows platform, for the foreseeable future. NET cannot be ported to a UNIX platform or a large host platform such as OS390.

Hess said that with Microsoft in the next 3, 4 months to support. NET programming tools and products, as well as the original products to. NET porting,. NET's popularity will rise. But he thinks that. NET and Java have no obvious advantages, both of which will be able to find a niche in the marketplace for their own survival.

XP support or not determines the fate of Java

Analysts are not particularly worried about Microsoft's unsupported Java in Windows XP released last October. Rob Perry says that if there is a need, the enterprise can add the JVM needed on the desktop. He said that there are jvms on all platforms, and if Microsoft does not develop the JVM, users can use IBM's.

. NET is a platform strategy

Java is a "first-rate" portable programming language, says Gordon Benett, senior analyst with the Aberdeen Group's Internet infrastructure. While. NET has many features, it is not only a multilingual development framework, but also an xml-based infrastructure for interoperability and a Run-time library based on virtual machines. He said. NET is a platform strategy, not just a language.

The role of prosecution is limited

Benett pointed out that the Java camp's strategy may be through litigation into the hearts of consumers, but this is not a competition, he does not support this strategy.

Although the lawsuit against Microsoft has not been closed, Sun last week sued Microsoft again, its aim is to let Microsoft support Java in Windows XP. Currently, Sun makes Windows XP support Java by letting users download it. But industry analysts have raised that litigation will not have a decisive impact on the goals or strategies of the two companies.

Benett says no one can benefit from litigation other than lawyers. Mountain