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IBM launches developerWorks

Big Blue aims to lure developers with open source and cross-platform focus

By Theresa Gonzalez, JavaWorld.com, 10/01/99

In an effort to compete in a playing field that includes Microsoft and Sun, on September 27 IBM officially launched its developerWorks portal site, which has been in beta since June. The free online developer resource is a concrete expression of IBM's commitment to open standards and cross-platform development. The site includes seven zones: Open Source, Linux, Security, Unicode, Web Architecture, XML, and Java. Through its commitment to provide product- and platform-independent information, IBM aims to make this site the ultimate resource for ebusiness application developers.

According to Chris Bahr, program director for the site, developerWorks is an extension of IBM's alphaWorks developer site, which invites developers to participate early in the tools development process by giving them free access to IBM source code. developerWorks's Open Source Zone is a forum for IBM's open source projects, where developers can enhance or repair code on specific projects. For Java developers, this zone offers the Jikes Java Compiler, which converts Java source code into machine-readable code to speed Java application development. Developers also gain access to IBM Classes for Unicode (ICU), which competes with JDK's internationalization. ICU provides support for XML processing, JavaScript, and other technologies. Open Visualization Data Explorer is another open source project soon to be available on the site. Bahr says new open source projects will be added every three to four weeks; there is no word yet on plans to add more Java-related projects here.

Enter the Java Zone

The Java Zone demonstrates IBM's willingness to embrace Java technology and, by extension, Java developers. (In contrast, the Microsoft Developer Network homepage shows no sign of Java support.) The zone links you to free online courses, downloads, open source code, tools, access to Java user groups (JUGS), events, and book excerpts -- all related to Java. You will find links to how-to articles, news, and tutorials from various independent sources, including Developer.com, JavaWorld, ZDNet, and TechWeb, as well as original content from IBM's own staff under the direction of former JavaWorld Editor-in-Chief Michael O'Connell.

Compared to other vendor sites, IBM seeks to downplay self-promotion in developerWorks. For example, an article on the site makes reference to the recent Volano Report, which found that Tower Technology's TowerJ beat out IBM's new JDK 1.1.8 for Linux. "Essentially, if we feel the information is critical to developers, we'll want to cover it in developerWorks. No corporate developer resource offers the same breadth and depth of content -- free of proprietary or company-specific constraints," says O'Connell.

developerWorks also allows you to search the Web for Java-related material through IBM's jCentral, which provides more than 360,000 items of interest to Java developers. Less than one percent of that content is IBM's, according to Bahr. Through jCentral, developers can search other developer Web sites, such as EarthWeb's Gamelan Java resource site, all public Web sites, and other corporate Web sites, such as Sun's Java Developer Connection site, as well as other IBM sites. (See Resources for links to these Java sites.)

 

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