Microsoft hopes to net Java developers
Microsoft is trying to lure developers onto its .Net platform by releasing tools that make it easier to modify Java code to run on the platform.
Microsoft is trying to lure developers onto its .Net platform by releasing tools that make it easier to modify Java code to run on the platform.
The strategy, called Java User Migration Path to .Net, will allow Java programmers to change the J code to a C sharp code and migrate Java projects to the .Net platform.
The strategy includes a set of programming tools that allows developers to use Java syntax to target the platform directly.
Microsoft will also provide paid migration consulting services and work with third-party consultants to help Java developers move to .Net.
Gary Barnett, research director at analyst Ovum, said: "It could be a route to interoperability. There is the potential for this to go some way towards breaking the software apartheid between Sun Microsystems and Microsoft."
The move comes just days after Microsoft settled a long-running dispute with Sun over Microsoft's use of Java. The software giant eventually paid Sun $20m to end the three-year court case, which was settled last Tuesday.
Phil Cross, developer marketing manager at Microsoft, said: "The Jump to the .Net strategy is giving the ability for any Java language developers to use the new platform and is not linked to the result of the lawsuit."
The settlement terminated all Microsoft's Java licences and prevents the company from using any Java logos on its product ranges. It also ended Microsoft's chances of being able to build Java onto .Net.
However, Cross added that Microsoft's existing agreement with Sun was in any case due to expire, so the outcome of the lawsuit had had "minimal impact" on the vendor.
Andrew Flye, product marketing manager for Sun, said: "We like to think that our emphasis is on being accessible to all, and to have no proprietary interfaces."
The tools are not expected before the end of the year and no prices have been announced.