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Microsoft’s Visual J# .NET Hits Beta One
Microsoft Corp. is expected to release Beta One of itsVisual J# .NET language and development environment. It is designed to bringWeb Services and other .NET technologies to Java developers.
Visual J# .NET is the successor to Redmond’s Visual J++ 6.0 Java clone. It will integrate withthe Visual Studio .NET integrated development environment (IDE). Microsoft hasannounced several languages that will integrate into the Visual Studio IDE;some of these will be developed by Microsoft, while others, like the Perlcompiler, will be made by ISVs.
Although Microsoft lost an intellectual property lawsuitwith Sun Microsystems Inc. over its unique implementation of Java standards,apparently Microsoft is still interested in drawing from the ranks of Javadevelopers. In a statement, Tom Button, vice president of the developerdivision at Microsoft, said “With Visual J#. NET, Java-language developers cantarget XML web services through the .NET framework.”
Some Java application servers have begun to integrateWeb Services objects, so Microsoft may be attempting to compete for Javadevelopers by offering a Java clone. Some observers have speculated thatMicrosoft is interested in creating language similar to Java in order tojustify compatibility in its .NET runtime. Microsoft was forced to remove its Javaruntime as a result of the Sun lawsuit.
The J# beta can be downloaded at: http://msdn.microsoft.com/visualj/jsharp/beta.asp