FRAMINGHAM (12-08-95) - As Java the way to go for enterprise development? Corporate developers considering Sun Microsystems Inc.'s forthcoming Internet applications language say Java is hot stuff. But by itself, it isn't strong enough for the enterprise.
"It's amazing how fast we've all figured out Java's a great thing," said Art Clancy, a consultant and project manager at Merrill Lynch & Co. in New York. "But without using a more robust infrastructure, you can't raise a Java application to the level of the enterprise."
Java applications are stored on a central server and downloaded only as needed. Users can download and run a Java program using any Java-enabled World Wide Web browser, and the same application can run unchanged on a PC, Macintosh or Unix-based workstation.
Applications stored on a central server instead of hundreds or thousands of PCs are much easier to manage, according to Kent Podvin. He is director of information systems strategic planning and re-engineering at Rite Aid Corp., a drugstore chain based in Camp Hill, Pa. "Otherwise, managing all the components in a client/server system and keeping them all in sync gets to be a nightmare," he said.
But enterprise-scale distributed applications need secure, reliable access to enterprise data, which is a lot more robust than a simple link between a browser and Web site.
Hoping to bring those connections to enterprise strength, high-end middleware vendors are building links between Java and popular enterprise infrastructures.
PostModern Computing Technologies Inc. in Mountain View, Calif., this week plans to announce a system for connecting Java programs to object- oriented communications systems.
PostModern's product, code-named Black Widow, lets developers build Java programs that communicate using the Object Management Group's Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA). CORBA is used in IBM's OS/2 and mainframe MVS and by most major Unix vendors. CORBA implementations from different vendors can interconnect.
Black Widow generates Java code for developers to include in Java applications so they can create secure object-based connections with enterprise systems and data.
The tool is scheduled to ship in the second quarter next year. It will cost US$995.
"It's really a lot easier to maintain a server using CORBA, and the ease of adding those pieces into Java is amazing," Clancy said. He is testing the system for Merrill Lynch.
Open Environment Corp. this week also announced a version of its Entera middleware that will let Java applications link with a wide range of legacy systems, applications and databases.
The Boston-based vendor's Entera Internet Launcher is slated to ship in the first half of next year.
With Entera, developers can build applications that use a Java program as a front end.
The front end connects to mainframes, client/server applications and other enterprise services through a secure and reliable communications system, using TCP/IP or the Open Software Foundation's Distributed Computing Environment.
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