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Pat pushes Java forward

<em>JavaWorld</em>'s editors talk to Pat Sueltz, president of Sun's Software Products and Platforms Division, about Java's current state -- and its future.

By Javaworld Editors, JavaWorld.com, 06/06/00

Pat Sueltz

"The buck stops with me," she said in December 1999. "I made the decision."

In order to move Java forward, Sueltz vowed to review and improve the Java Community Process (JCP), rather than work with a standards body. Six months later, just prior to JavaOne, Sueltz kept her promise by naming JCP 2.0's executive committee members, who will shape Java's future (see Resources).

In her JavaWorld interview, Sueltz responds to JCP 2.0's critics, explains how the JCP will improve its review procedure, presents new Java technologies coming out of JavaOne, and reflects on her own career move.

JavaWorld: How has your role developed since you first started at Sun, and what do you see as your major accomplishments?

Sueltz: My role at Sun is to lead all of the software products and platforms from end to end -- from the largest servers to the smallest embedded devices -- and do that in a way that has unique software value to all developer communities. My job basically is to present one face to the developers.

Major accomplishments that we've completed since I arrived here (I guess I just hit the six-month mark) include some new versions of Java: Java on Linux, Java 2 on the Linux Virtual Machine. We've put out Solaris 8, which is the uninterruptible power supply of the Internet. We've free-sourced Solaris 8, which actually has over 200,000 licensees. Interestingly enough, 75 percent of those have come from the Intel environment and 50 percent are new to Solaris. We've also completed the acquisition of Forté, and we continue to drive that forward with a total end-to-end tool solution. We've also opened up the JCP.

JavaWorld: What are your goals for the next six months in terms of Java's direction?

Sueltz: We're going to drive the Java client forward. You're going to see, more than ever, the link between Java and XML. You're going to see more Java tools and more openness to the community. You will see more with Jini in terms of reference implementations. You're also going to see more with the Java 2 Micro Edition in terms of small-device support, and that will go hand in glove with what we're doing with Jini. You're really going to see more in terms of mobile bytecodes, and more with mobile agents with XML. In addition, we're going to have more developer programs and activities for the entire developer community at large.

JavaWorld: How do you see Java shaping the long-term future of computing?

Sueltz: Java is quite a success story now at five years old. It has shaped the base of a platform that is platform-neutral; thus we have a development environment that works across all platforms. As we move forward, everything will be about mobile bytecodes. In other words, it's not just about connecting to an application on the Net. Mobile bytecodes will continue to move Java to small client devices and small, embedded devices, with a footprint to match -- so that applications can interoperate across the plethora of available devices.