Sun, of Santa Clara, Calif., on Wednesday previewed its plans to add Linux support by the middle of 2004 to the Java Enterprise System, its Java server software stack that began shipping in December for Solaris with a pricing plan of $100 per user per year. The Linux version will be available to run on x86-based servers from Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
It also announced that its complete line of development tools, from its NetBeans open-source software to its Java Studio software, will support Linux by the end of this year. The current version of Sun Java Studio Standard ships with Linux, and Sun Java Studio Enterprise and Java Studio Creator are expected to ship with Linux support in midyear. Other tools will follow throughout the year, the company said.
On the hardware front, Suns Sun Ray desktop appliances will be available for Linux as well sometime within 2004, a company spokeswoman said.
In a statement, Jonathan Schwartz, executive vice president of software, said Sun is "demonstrating commitment by building and shipping indemnified products, safe for corporate deployment, that save millions of dollars each and every day."
In September, when Sun launched the Java Enterprise System and it desktop companion, the Java Desktop System, Schwartz stressed in an eWEEK interview that the new software offering was best-suited for Suns own Solaris operating system even though the company was pursuing Linux support.
Along with offering a Linux software roadmap, Sun on Wednesday said it is launching a new online Linux development community at community.java.net/linux. It is focused on Java programmers developing on multiple distributions of Linux.
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