Aidan MalleyAfter receiving access to the iPhone and iPod touch through Apple's SDK, Sun Microsystems says it will release a version of Java for the two Apple devices.
Initially, the software will be a variant of Java Micro Edition, a mobile version of the software most often used for cellphone games as well as some specialized business apps, such as CRM (customer relations management) or ERP (enterprise resource planning) tools. However, the Sun official also said that the software would hopefully be optimized for the iPhone and allow access to features specific to Apple's mobile platform.
"We're going to work to make sure that the [virtual machine] offers the Java applications as much access to the native functionality of the iPhone as possible," Klein said.
The executive also said his company wouldn't rule out more advanced developments. JavaFX, a second mobile version of Java built partly to substitute for Flash and other web animations, was possible. Over time, the company could also write a version of Java Standard Edition if its initial experience proves worthwhile.
While a release of Java for the iPhone and iPod touch would not appear until sometime after Apple's June launch of its version 2.0 firmware and the App Store needed to download the program, the announcement represents an end-run around Apple's own resistance to implementing Java on its own. Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said no Java was coming from his own company as late as this week and last year described a full Java engine as a burden to the phone that was unlikely to be used by developers.
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85 Comments
I'd love for someone to explain to me how this can work. I am under the impression that only one 3rd-party app can run on mobile OS X at once.
hok posted on another forum that this might be prohibited by the
SDK user agreement:
Apple iPhone SDK Agreement: ?No interpreted code may be downloaded and used in an Application except for code that is interpreted and run by Apple?s Published APIs and builtin interpreter(s)? An Application may not itself install or launch other executable code by any means, including without limitation through the use of a plug-in architecture, calling other frameworks, other APIs or otherwise.?
Realising how big the iPhone and iPod touch is going to be in terms of a development platform, Sun and probably Adobe (god bless them) are shitting bricks right now seeing that all their efforts in mobile land may be threatened by a new force coming to the fore, namely OS X "Mobile" (or whatever one may call it)..
On the desktop and laptop, I still believe Flash is good and important. Mobile, not sure about that.
As for Java, will it please frickin' die already !!! DIE!!! Bloated piece of garbage. Always has been.
As for Java games and other mobile stuff, even on my Sony Ericsson, I have no idea what the big deal is with Java on the mobile. Not saying it is entirely Sun's fault, however, it has always been slow and unimpressive.
Great stuff for the antitrust peoples though, the Apple "Matrix" is being built stronger every day. Like a splinter in your Internetz*.
*(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/quotes)
Realising how big the iPhone and iPod touch is going to be in terms of a development platform, Sun and probably Adobe (god bless them) are shitting bricks right now seeing that all their efforts in mobile land may see a new force coming to the fore, namely OS X "Mobile" (or whatever one may call it)..
No kidding. It could even result in more development for Mac if developers use Xcode tools
for the first time to make iPhone apps and really like it.