Sun to publish Web services software source code

Duncan Martell

SAN FRANCISCO: In a bid to spur sales of its computer services and other offerings, Sun Microsystems Inc. has said that it will publish the source code of its software used as the foundation of Web services, such as online banking.

The company said that it would share the source code for its Java System application server software Platform Edition 9, which enables Web services. Source code is the underlying blueprint of software.

The move by Sun comes almost two weeks after the company published the source code for its Solaris operating system that is used to run large computer centers. That move also is expected to help drive sales of its software, services, as well as its computer servers and possibly its data storage gear.

By making the application server software free to developers, who write programs and make possible Web services that work in conjunction with application server software, Sun hopes to increase further the number of Sun software developers.

"This is as much about growing Sun's overall mind-share and increasing the number of Sun developers in the market," said Stephen O'Grady, an analyst at market research firm Red Monk.

Late last month, Sun had announced a $50 million advertising campaign to revamp its brand in what Sun said was its biggest-ever brand overhaul. The campaign uses clients including eBay Inc., General Motors Corp. and Major League Baseball to show how its products and services help connect people across businesses and personal interests.

"Now I can sell services, systems, storage and design services, because I got my foot in the door" by giving away the code to the Java application server, John Loiacono, the head of Sun's software group, said in a telephone interview.

The announcement by Sun comes on the eve of its annual JavaOne conference in San Francisco. Since Java's introduction 10 years ago, when it was initially used mainly to animate Web pages, the programming language has mushroomed into broad and pervasive use.

Loiacono said that there are now more than 2.5 billion electronic devices that use Java, including more than 700 million cellular handsets, and more than 4.5 million Java developers, up from just less than 4 million last year.