Sun Bringing Java to iPhone

[MacRumors]

Sun announced that they are developing a Java Virtual Machine for Apple's iPhone with the newly released Software Development Kit (SDK).

"We're going to make sure that the JVM offers the Java applications as much access to the native functionality of the iPhone as possible," he said.

The specific version of Java will be based on the Java Micro Edition (ME) and will open the iPhone to a large library of existing Java applications. Sun's announcement comes after reviewing the iPhone SDK since its release just on Thursday. Sun expects to release this version of Java "some time after June".

Sun maintains a sample library of Java ME games and applications. This list includes EA Sims Bowling, Scrabble, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Libris eBook reader, and more.


Sun adds its name to a list of other developers who have already announced support for the iPhone. Others include Gameloft, Omnigroup, Freeverse, SixApart, reQall, EA, and Epocrates

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[autumn]

Here comes thousands of 3rd party softwares....

 

[Ramsos]

Sounds great.

 

[shigzeo]

indeed, i am looking forward to this very much

 

[weblogik]

will there ever be windows media player support?
thats the big thing i miss on my iphone, is the ability to listent to window streams

 

[gmon750]

will there ever be windows media player support?
thats the big thing i miss on my iphone, is the ability to listent to window streams

Yeah, it's called Windows Mobile. Sell your iPhone to someone more worthy.
*sheesh* Whiner-alert!

 

[cybereal]

Not as good as it sounds

Yes, it is great that some random portion of crappy JavaME games will suddenly run poorly or incorrectly on the iPhone. I really had hoped we could avoid this. The idea is to revolutionize the expectations and capabilities of mobile devices, not keep churning the same wretched crap. JavaME is one of the most poorly thought out development platforms ever created.

If we must tolerate Java on a device that clearly doesn't need it, let us at least have a complete API, or as close to complete as possible, such as the CDC profile.

For the record, I'm a career Java developer and have written JavaME apps myself. With the capabilities of the iPhone, there is absolutely no good reason to use Java to target it. Objective C is easily a thousand times better language, and the tools provided in Xcode are more advanced than most any Java development toolkit. I understand the draw of compatibility with existing JavaME apps but the fact is, compatibility is the last thing you expect with a midlet, unless you stick to the absolute core, and even then, you rarely hit more than 20% of handsets. That gives whatever implementation they toss together about a 1 in 5 compatibility range, and that excludes apps that decided to rely on screen sizes and render their own interfaces.

That said, one of my favorite mobile apps is a Java ME app, it's simple and adapts well to random devices, so I guess if this does come to fruition, at least I'll get my JABPlite back!

 

[jhande]

will there ever be windows media player support?
thats the big thing i miss on my iphone, is the ability to listent to window streams

Probably, but through QT using add-on codecs. It'll be a while, but it'll get there.

 

[Eraserhead]

will there ever be windows media player support?
thats the big thing i miss on my iphone, is the ability to listent to window streams

This is actually a reasonable question, however unfortunately the answer is no, as a) Apple won't licence it, b) Microsoft won't port it, as it isn't running Windows.

 

[aLoC]

Apple can veto any iPhone app so I wonder if they'll want Java on there.

 

[Agathon]

will there ever be windows media player support?
thats the big thing i miss on my iphone, is the ability to listent to window streams

Exchange support is about as far as the deal with Satan will go, methinks.

 

[em500]

Apple can veto any iPhone app so I wonder if they'll want Java on there.

This is actually a good point. Apple needs to thread carefully here, lest they'll be seen as big bullies (and they are getting big in the smartphone sphere, especially in the US). The issue is, Apple has expressly designed native iPhone apps such that everything must come from AppStore. But if this JVM turns out to be only a thin wrapper around the Cocoa APIs ("We're going to make sure that the JVM offers the Java applications as much access to the native functionality of the iPhone as possible,"), this enables developers to do near-native apps while almost complete bypassing Apple's control.

 

[Eraserhead]

I suspect that Apple will release it in such a way that the applications still have to be bought/acquired through the AppStore.

 

[Thomas Harte]

No interpreted code may be downloaded and used in an Application except for code that is interpreted and run by Apple’s Published APIs and builtin interpreter(s)

Are Apple offering preferable terms to big companies?

 

[hok]

Too bad, Apple won't authorize them:

Apple iPhone SDK Agreement: “No interpreted code may be downloaded and used in an Application except for code that is interpreted and run by Apple’s Published APIs and builtin interpreter(s)… An Application may not itself install or launch other executable code by any means, including without limitation through the use of a plug-in architecture, calling other frameworks, other APIs or otherwise.”

 

[BongoBanger]

Yeah, it's called Windows Mobile. Sell your iPhone to someone more worthy.
*sheesh* Whiner-alert!

You know, it's better to not type anything and be thought a fool than type something and confirm it. He's asking a question and since Apple supports MS products (Office) and the iPhone will be using Exchange then it's a valid one.

Gut feeling is that WM won't appear on the iPhone though.

 

[Mackan]

How about Apple let Sun develop the JVM for Mac OS X as well? We have been waiting for ever for Java 6...

 

[bobrik]

How about Apple let Sun develop the JVM for Mac OS X as well? We have been waiting for ever for Java 6...

Since iPhone OS = Mac OS X, and JavaME is a technologically a substantial subset of JavaSE, basically this reveals that Sun will have written Java for Mac OS X. The other (business) question is whether they will also release Java for Mac OS X, not only iPhone. Maybe this is a sign that Sun is in talks with Apple to get back control of Java for Mac OS X as well.

 

[hvfsl]

will there ever be windows media player support?
thats the big thing i miss on my iphone, is the ability to listent to window streams

It probably won't be too long before someone ports VideoLan or MPlayer. So I would be very surprised if there isn't WM support come June.

 

[indiekiduk]

The specific version of Java will be based on the Java Micro Edition (ME)

This is by far the worst thing that could happen to the iPhone. I was hoping we could avoid Java and keep all the apps fast and native looking.

 

[AdeFowler]

Yeah, it's called Windows Mobile. Sell your iPhone to someone more worthy.
*sheesh* Whiner-alert!

That was helpful; thanks for sharing

 

[jpxdude]

Java ME is not very good. I created a JME game ages ago, and it is pretty limited. The iPhone is capable of much more than this.

 

[JBaker122586]

Are Apple offering preferable terms to big companies?

Yes, I can almost guarantee it.
There's no way that they'd force you to quit AIM to surf the Internet.
Therefore, AOL will be getting preferential treatment.

I also wouldn't be surprised if games feature "custom soundtracks" that you can play through your iPod.

 

[fastbite]

The great positive here is not java or not, it is the fact that everybody, big an small, is jumping into the iPhone train. And that is great and crucial.

 

[viniciusc]

But how would any Java app react using Multitouch?