SAP Validates NetWeaver For Java EE 5

SAP's NetWeaver Application Server has passed the compatibility tests for Java Enterprise Edition 5, making it the third application server to officially support the Java overhaul shipped this spring.

SAP's "technical preview" release of the updated NetWeaver, available for download at its Web site, is functionally complete. An official GA version will ship sometime in 2007, according to company executives.

"We are encouraging ISVs and partners to get that preview version today and start developing on it and be ready to go when we announce the available of the next version of NetWeaver," said Jeff Anders, SAP's director of solution marketing.

Java EE 5, released in May at this year's JavaOne show, is a radical overhaul of the Java platform, focused on simplifying Java coding. Developers say widespread adoption of the new Java will depend in part on how soon the major application server vendors achieve compatibility.

Sun broke with its traditional development lag and released a Java EE 5 application server, the Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 9 (better known by its code name, GlassFish), concurrent with the platform's release. Independent developer Tmax Soft also has a validated Java EE 5 application server available.

SAP is a niche player in the application server market, primarily serving its own applications customers. IBM, BEA, Oracle, JBoss and other major vendors are all working on Java EE 5 implementations, most scheduled to ship next year.