Java Performs Better than Expected in V4R4

The integrated Java Virtual Machine in May’s V4R4 release of OS/400 figures to exceed its original performance expectations.

“It’s better than we initially thought,” says IBM AS/400 Java Marketing Manager John Quarantello, about the V4R4 JVM. “We were looking for 30 to 50 percent improvement [over V4R3], but it looks like it’s going to be closer to 80 to 100 percent.” Quarantello says the performance of V4R3’s JVM was only 30 to 40 percent better than the original V4R2 JVM.

Other Java highlights of the V4R4 release include support for version 1.1.7 of the Java Developer’s Kit (JDK) in the AS/400 Developer Kit for Java. Concurrent JDK install options will also be supported, allowing users to work from multiple versions of the JDK.

Application development and deployment tools in V4R4 will include IBM’s VisualAge for Java Professional Edition, a less fully-featured version of the original pruduct, AS/400 Toolbox for Java, and a 60-day “try-and-buy” of Inprise’s JBuilder/400. Aldon Computer Group (Oakland, Calif.) will supply its Software Configuration Management (SCM) tool to the release, which will also feature InstallShield for AS/400 software installation and de-installation.

V4R4 will include a product preview of IBM’s WebSphere Java application server that supports Enterprise JavaBeans. A final EJB version of WebSphere is due to be shipped in the fourth quarter.

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