Microsoft’s Visual J#.NET Hits Beta One
Microsoft Corp. is expected to release Beta One of its Visual J# .NET language and development environment. It is designed to bring Web 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 with the Visual Studio .NET integrated development environment (IDE). Microsoft has announced several languages that will integrate into the Visual Studio IDE; some of these will be developed by Microsoft, while others, like the Perl compiler, will be made by ISVs.
Although Microsoft lost an intellectual property lawsuit with Sun Microsystems Inc. over its unique implementation of Java standards, apparently Microsoft is still interested in drawing from the ranks of Java developers. In a statement, Tom Button, vice president of the developer division at Microsoft, said “With Visual J#. NET, Java-language developers can target XML web services through the .NET framework.”
Some Java application servers have begun to integrate Web Services objects, so Microsoft may be attempting to compete for Java developers by offering a Java clone. Some observers have speculated that Microsoft is interested in creating language similar to Java in order to justify compatibility in its .NET runtime. Microsoft was forced to remove its Java runtime as a result of the Sun lawsuit.
The J# beta can be downloaded at: msdn.microsoft.com/visualj/jsharp/beta.asp.
About the Author
Chris McConnell is Product and Technology Editor for Enterprise Systems.