"Java is a community rather than a product"

James Gosling, the father of Java, was in Hyderabad recently as part of Java Tech Days 2004, the largest annual congregation of the Java developer community. He was visiting India after 19 years. Gosling shared his views on the future of Java, .Net, and his role as chief technology officer (developers platform group) at Sun Microsystems with SRINIVASA RAO DASARI

* A decade after its debut, Java has revolutionised Internet services and made rapid strides in the enterprise. Do you see Java going b a decade from now?

There will be a lot of different directions. The enterprise stuff is definitely going to continue, and it will continue to be very big. The interesting thing these days for me is how various types of devices are participating in the Internet. Cell phones and PDAs are marvellous devices. There is immense potential in this segment as people prefer innovative instruments within automobiles, gas pumps, security gadgets, hand-held devices and electronic gizmos. We can build a solution for cars that alerts drivers about speed, fuel and other aspects of the vehicle. Technology is changing rapidly. As far as Java’s existence is concerned, 10 years from now it may not be there, but I would like to see the next development either based on Java or influenced by it.

* Do you agree that .Net is catching up with Java?

I consider Java to be a community rather than a product of Sun. It has spread in enterprise computing, and people prefer Java in mobile devices—nobody likes it if a mobile device looks like a desktop with Windows-like features. I am a big believer in development tools, so the more Java spreads the better the tools that will evolve. Sun will always care about enterprise and mobile computing, and whatever else makes sense for customers. Jini lets all kinds of devices connect to the network instantly; just plug a device in and it works. The community has taken up areas such as embedded computing. In India, there are about 300,000 Java developers, almost 50 percent of the total developer population.

* Last time, you added security features to Java. What can we expect from the next avatar of Java that’s due in 2005?

The next version of Java will address the requirements of technology applications from enterprise to wireless computing. We are evaluating class inheritance and delegation models to determine which one is better. The new version will have a wide range of classes for Web-based applications, network services, and support operations such as online shopping and reservations. Web services are important; what protocol we use is secondary, but building the Web infrastructure is important.

* When will you open source Java and what would your revenue model be then?

It is already extraordinarily open. People who use our software can modify and develop a new version. But any company that modifies and develops something new in order to sell to a third party needs a licence. We look at licensing as a revenue model.

* Java has been tardy in taking off on the corporate desktop when compared to its success powering the Internet, corporate network and enterprise applications. Is this set to change any time soon?

We have the Java Desktop System (JDS) which is cheap, stable and a good alternative to Microsoft’s desktop environment. Our desktop system includes support for defence agency-grade Java card technology. It also complements the Java Enterprise System perfectly, and has an easily-managed front-end with all the familiar functionality that one expects on the desktop—but without the viruses. It’s also more affordable. JDS is part of Sun’s strategy of mobility with security backed by the power of the network.