Page V: Sun tries to quell dissension among Java backers while fending off Microsoft.
"If Java were a long-in-the-tooth technology, you'd see attendance dropping dramatically," Sun's Loiacono said. But JavaOne attendance is increasing, he said. "I don't think we've hit anywhere near the mainstream of where Java is going to be."
Still, developers -- which Sun calls the "lifeblood of the company" -- need assurances that the company will give them a way forward to the latest technologies, noted John Rymer, an analyst at Forrester Research. In particular, many developers are wrestling with new programming methods that use Web services to automate business processes, he said.
While Microsoft is well along to adopting Web services throughout its product line, Java-based products that incorporate Web services, based on Java 2 Enterprise Edition 1.4 standard, are relatively recent.
"The community is changing. (Java developers) are moving on, mainly to XML and Web services," Rymer said. "If Sun doesn't move with them, then Java is going to be an interesting part of the infrastructure, but not front and center."
CNET News.com's Stephen Shankland contributed to this report.
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