Las Vegas - Sun Microsystems, Inc.'s differences with Microsoft Corp. over Java may have made a few developers hesitant to use the language for much beyond Web applications, but Java still whipped up enthusiastic chatter at Comdex/Fall '97 from keynote speakers down to attendees wandering the show floor.
Sun's JavaSoft division was absent from Comdex, but Toshiba Information Systems was here to unveil the fruit of its investment in the language - its new Java-based operating system, JexeOS. In the first quarter of 1998, Toshiba's software arm will release its 32-bit operating system, which works either on the network or from a stand-alone PC.
Lucent Technologies, Inc. unwrapped its Inferno 2.0 network operating system for small consumer devices. The new version of Inferno runs applications written in the PersonalJava programming language - a subset of Java designed for network products that have displays but no keyboards, such as screen phones.
Operating systems aside, IBM, Borland International, Inc., Lotus Development Corp., Symantec Corp. and Microsoft all were here to show off tools for developers who are putting varying degrees of trust in Java.
Anthony Bata, software engineer at Pena Systems, Inc., believes Java has potential, but Sun's suit against Microsoft has made him cautious. Bata, who develops middleware, is sticking to creating applets until he is sure Java is here to stay.
But Roger Slayden, a programmer with the U.S. Air Force in Las Vegas who has just acquired Microsoft's J++ to update his Web site, is among the ranks of show attendees unperturbed by the Microsoft vs. Sun battle. The dispute between Microsoft and Sun will not affect Java programmers, according to Vivek Khadilkar, systems analyst at Image-X Co., in Goleta, Calif, "because Sun will not stop coming out with newer versions."
Michael Larosa, a systems trainer who was manning the Microsoft Visual J++ development tool booth also noted that the dispute between the two companies has made some developers at the show a little uneasy. He added, however, doubts are not great enough to quash interest, with companies seeing Java as a means to develop faster solutions and components. Even if developers view Java as a "cool" language, Larosa claimed they have yet to move on to creating high-end system software with Java.
Java is finding a place in server side development at Pacific Bell Interactive Media, in Pasadena, Calif., according to Salim Walji, director of technical development.
"It works for us," Walji said. And although his group is not really exploiting Java's multi-platform capabilities - the company is currently just using it to develop applications for just Solaris and Windows NT - Walji likes Java's object model, which he said eases the development of distributed multi-threaded applications.
And Java had some advocates milling around Comdex who are seeking to escape the clutches of Microsoft.
Kevin Hartwick, a PC specialist with Interstate/Johnson Lane, a brokerage firm in Charlotte, N.C., said his company currently is evaluating Sun's JavaStations as desktop alternatives to PCs as a way to cut down on support and administration costs.
"One of our corporate visions is to really get away from Microsoft in general, if that's possible," he said. "We are only a 1,200-user firm and our support contract for Windows software alone is $250,000."
