Built for Business - JDK 1.2 for the Solaris 7 Operating Environment; Sun's Java Applications for the World's Strongest Operating Environment - Three Times Faster Than NT.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 27, 1998--Sun Microsystems, Inc. today announced the availability of the Java(TM) Development Kit (JDK(TM)) 1.2 software beta release, optimized for the Solaris(TM) 7 Operating Environment.

Bolstered by enterprise-class scalability and performance, the enhancements in the JDK 1.2 software securely position applications written in the Java programming language in the center of business. The Solaris 7 Operating Environment and JDK 1.2 bring the flexibility of Java technology to mission-critical business applications running on the industrial-strength Solaris 7 Operating Environment.

JDK 1.2 keeps two of Sun Microsystems' greatest promises: fast, portable and cost-efficient applications written in the Java language and the most reliable network computing environment available to protect business investments - the Solaris operating environment. The JDK 1.2 with enhanced run-time system empowers developers with the tools to more quickly and easily create applications based on Sun's Java technology that can reliably meet the demands of the enterprise. In the Solaris 7 Operating Environment, these applications run at their maximum performance levels, while scaling to make efficient use of existing system resources.

"Corporations are demanding applications written in the Java programming language that can flexibly and securely cater to the expansion and changing dynamics of their own business," said Rich Green, vice president, Solaris Software. "The increased scalability and performance afforded by JDK 1.2 reflects the ability of Java technology to meet the needs of mission-critical applications, and underscores Sun's commitment to continue shepherding its power in the appropriate direction for our partners and customers."

The Java Development Kit - Nuts and Bolts 

JDK 1.2 software provides developers with a rich feature set of new class libraries and tools that make it easier for enterprise developers to create portable, distributed, mission-critical applications. Functionality has been dramatically improved, including performance, scalability, ease-of-development, security and interoperability.

Performance. The Java Virtual Machine(TM) (JVM) for the Solaris operating environment is designed to reliably deliver superior performance and scalability across the enterprise, raising the bar on speed and reliability delivered by applications incorporating Sun's Java technology. The JVM's multithreaded architecture, optimized JIT compiler, fast thread synchronization and new, generational memory system all serve to deliver unprecedented performance to enterprise applications written in the Java programming language.

Scalability. Applications enabled by the JVM in JDK1.2 software for Solaris software now scale to eight central processing units (CPUs), with near linear performance gains as each CPU is added. In fact, application performance is better than three times faster on the Solaris 7 Operating Environment than the best published results for Microsoft Windows NT. By taking advantage of the well established performance, scalability and advanced features of the Solaris operating environment, JDK 1.2 now can support software solutions that grow with the needs of the enterprise -- delivering more power and handling more users than ever before.

Ease-of-Development. The Java Foundation Classes (JFC) software is a comprehensive set of graphical user interface (GUI) components and foundation services for building, displaying and printing rich, highly-customized user interfaces and graphics. Security. By extending the original "sandbox" model with permission-based access policies, the new JDK security model provides flexible access while solidifying greater control over the access. It achieves this by allowing applets and applications written to the Java platform to be given varying amounts of access to system and network resources.

Interoperability and Connectivity. The JDK software release will enable Java Remote Method Invocation (RMI) technology to run on top of the Internet Interoperability Protocol (IIOP) technology standard, allowing Java objects to get access to and interoperate with remote Java technology-based and non-Java technology objects. In addition, the JDK software kit includes Java Internet Definition Language (IDL) to provide an all- CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) solution for seamless interoperability and connectivity to different types of applications and data in enterprises.

The JDK 1.2 software beta release, optimized for the Solaris 7 Operating Environment can now be downloaded from the Web at http://www.sun.com/solaris/java/ for enterprise-class application development. The first customer shipments bundled with the Solaris 7 software are scheduled for the first calendar quarter of 1999.

About Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision, "The Network Is The Computer(TM)," has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:SUNW) to its position as a leading provider of high-quality hardware, software and services for establishing enterprise-wide intranets and expanding the power of the Internet. With more than $10 billion in annual revenues, Sun can be found in more than 150 countries and on the Worldwide Web at http://www.sun.com.

Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Solaris, Java, JDK and Java Virtual Machine are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

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