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HP stirring its own Java
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March 20, 1998: 2:32 p.m. ET
Hewlett Packard develops another variant of Sun programming language
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - In a move that opens a rift with Sun Microsystems Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. has developed its own version of Sun's popular Java programming language and plans to market it for use with electronic devices and computer printers.
HP's version, which has been in development for 18 months, may create a fissure in the software industry's slowly cracking alliance against Microsoft Corp.
The Redmond, Wash., software behemoth already has signed on to HP's version of Java and wants to include Java support in its Windows CE operating system. The moves could seriously undermine Sun's attempts to control Java's evolution and dictate the terms of its spread to other high-tech tools.
The new version is targeted for use in electronic devices or appliances and is customizable, meaning it can be kept small to perform only the functions needed in a particular application.
Joe Beyer, general manager of HP's Internet software business, said HP developed its version out of frustration that Sun wanted sole control of the language and wanted to charge licensing fees HP thought were excessive.
HP, Beyer said, remains a licensee of Java's specifications for computers. But, he added, Palo Alto, Cal.-based HP had chosen a subset of Java software for computer products and then wrote a "virtual machine" able to execute Java programs. It's that machine that HP plans to market to other companies.
A Sun Microsystems spokesman said the fact that Hewlett Packard is developing its own version of Java is a validation of the importance of the language to the computer industry.
The spokesman said Sun will continually expand on its version to ensure it stays ahead of HP's implementation.
When Sun introduced Java in 1995, it touted the product as a "write-once, run anywhere" software program that could run on any operating system. That appeared to pose a direct threat to Microsoft's operating system dominance. So far, that hasn't come to pass. Indeed, Microsoft has licensed Java to run on its own operating system.
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