Microsoft bids bye-bye to Java

Microsoft bids bye-bye to Java

[Ken Garlington]

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Microsoft bids bye-bye to Java
By Mary Jo Foley
ZDNN
http://www.msnbc.com/news/431715.asp

ORLANDO, Fla., July 11 � When Microsoft delivers an alpha version of its
Visual Studio.Net tool suite to attendees of its Professional Developers
Conference here Wednesday, one language will be sorely missing: Java.

THE OMISSION OF J++ was expected by many, as Microsoft continues to battle
Java creator Sun Microsystems Inc. in court over Microsoft�s right to extend
Microsoft�s J++ implementation of Java for Windows. Sun sued Microsoft in
1997 over Microsoft�s Java license, and specifically, over the necessity for
Microsoft to remain in lockstep compatibility with Sun�s Java. Prior to this
week, whenever Microsoft officials were asked whether or not Microsoft�s
legal problems would cause it to shy away from Java, they remained mum.
Microsoft officials claimed repeatedly on Tuesday that the sole reason they
are not including J++ in Visual Studio .Net is uncertainty regarding the
implication of the Java suit.

Until Tuesday, Microsoft management declined to confirm or deny whether
Microsoft would feature an updated version of J++ alongside its other Visual
Studio tools � Visual Basic, Visual C++, JScript and Microsoft�s recently
introduced C# (pronounced �C Sharp�) languages � when it shipped Visual
Studio 7, or as it is now known, Visual Studio .Net. (Visual Studio .Net is
slated to go to beta by the end of this summer and ship commercially next
year.)

But in detailing Microsoft�s .Net Framework during a general session here at
the PDC Tuesday, Microsoft distinguished engineer Anders Hejlsberg mentioned
every language but Java. �The .Net platform is truly language-neutral,�
Hejlsberg told the audience. �All .Net languages are first-class players."
Hejlsberg went on to list the wide variety of third-party languages, ranging
from APL and Cobol to Pascal, Eiffel and SmallTalk, that various vendors are
porting to support the Microsoft .Net Framework. The Framework is a common
set of classes and libraries that provide the basis for the .Net building
blocks that Microsoft is building to deliver on its software as a service
.Net platform. But Hejlsberg, who played a key role in developing Microsoft
J++ after joining Microsoft from Inprise (the former Borland International)
didn�t mention Java at all.

Rational Software was rumored, at one point, to have taken over Microsoft�s
J++ product, with Microsoft�s blessing. But Rational never confirmed that
speculation, and Microsoft outright denied it.