Sun launches JXTA

Bangalore: Sun Microsystems has formally unveiled Project JXTA as a

prototype, next-generation network computing research project that will enable

easy access to peers and resources on the rapidly emerging, multi-dimensional,

"expanded Web." Sun also launched jxta.org, an Open Source project

where developers can collaborate to evolve Project JXTA and create innovative,

distributed services and applications that allow users to naturally and quickly

find, get, and use information.

"The Web is evolving in both depth and breadth into an 'expanded Web',

which makes it challenging to efficiently communicate and access resources on

the Internet," said, , Project JXTA vice president, Mike Clary. "Sun

is offering a unified approach to address this next phase of distributed

computing, an approach that will enable users to quickly and easily find it, get

it, use it."

As more and more content and resources migrate to the Web, it's getting

difficult and time consuming to naturally access information stored on multiple

networks and across disparate platforms. The initial release of Project JXTA is

a cross-platform Java(TM) technology-based implementation, and Sun has initiated

a community project to develop a C implementation.

Sun's chief scientist and co-founder, Bill Joy said, "I wanted a

computing model based on the systems approach from UNIX(R) platforms, the

object-oriented, portable code capabilities from Java technology, and the

universal syntax for describing portable data from XML. So, we started Project

JXTA, which has become a platform independent, language agnostic, Open Source

technology to enable new and innovative distributed applications."

"By opening up the Project JXTA source code, Sun is demonstrating that

it is committed to the Open Source community and understands the value of

collaborative software development," said, co-founder and CTO of CollabNet

Brian Behlendorf. "This is Sun's third major Open Source community site

with us, and we look forward to working with Sun to create a strong development

community around Project JXTA."