Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2000 09:35:46 -0500
To: bheffner@chenpr.com
From: "Barbara Heffner" <bheffner@chenpr.com>
Subject: Sun Announces Forte for Java, release 2.0


Sun Microsystems Announces Forte for Java, Release 2.0, Supporting 
Entry-to-Enterprise Development

Just-in-Time Upgrades Possible With Dynamically Downloaded, Intelligent 
Plug-in Modules

     PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 11 --
Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW) today announced Forte(TM) for Java(TM),
release 2.0, the latest version of the company's leading cross-platform
development environment for building Internet services-based applications.
Forte for Java, release 2.0 includes several new plug-in modules that make it
easy for Java developers to build data-centric Internet applications.
     The Forte for Java development environment features a modular architecture
based on an open source framework (http://www.netbeans.org), supporting 
entry-level
to enterprise-class developers.  Users can step up to progressively more
powerful features of the product as their needs evolve.  The additional
features can be dynamically downloaded via the Internet into the development
environment.  This enables developers to tackle more sophisticated projects
using the same environment, leveraging their existing investment. Because the
product is built on a common, publicly available code base, users benefit from
the continuing enhancements and reliability inherent in an open source model.
     "The industry is migrating to an open, services-centric application
model," said Stans Kleijnen, Vice President, Forte Tools, Sun Microsystems.
"Forte for Java customers can take advantage of a proven development
environment that's available now to begin building Internet services-based
applications.  The 2.0 release features support for the latest version of
JavaServer Pages(TM) software, which is rapidly becoming the technology of
choice for developers building platform-independent, truly interactive Web
pages."
     "We especially like the modular design of Forte for Java, which allows for
virtually seamless expansion and upgrades to the core product," said
Sean Aitken, Codesmith, Interlan Technologies.  "The other critical factor is
that Forte for Java is based on open source, thereby avoiding any chance of
vendor lock in.  This also allows our team to write code that strictly
conforms to standards that we know are compatible with other IDEs and
development platforms."
     "I evaluated every Java IDE available and none offered the flexibility and
freedom of Forte for Java," said Tim Ferrell, Lead Developer at
McGee Corporation.  "Regardless of the project components -- JFC, JDBC, JSP,
EJB, CORBA, XML -- Forte for Java gives us a powerful, world-class environment
to quickly bring our designs to life and does not force a particular approach
or limit our toolset choices."

     Forte for Java -- New Features
     New product features simplify the creation of Web-enabled applications,
and include:
     -- JavaServer Page software creation and debugging -- JSP(TM) pages are
rapidly becoming the preferred means of generating dynamic Web pages.  Support
for JSP 1.1 tag library editing and debugging speeds and simplifies the
creation of JSP pages.
     -- Transparent persistence -- This capability lets developers access data
from relational databases and other sources using Java programming, with no
need to learn or switch to SQL programming for database access.  This
implementation of transparent persistence is based on the proposed Java Data
Objects (JDO) standard, and provides a higher-level interface than JDBC(TM) or
SQL.  It presents an object view of the data and application and allows
developers to treat database schema as Java persistent objects.
     -- Source code management -- Forte TeamWare, a source code control system,
provides popular capabilities that simplify distributed team development.
These include version control, build and release management, and problem
management and tracking.

     Forte for Java -- Editions
     The Forte for Java integrated development environment (IDE) comes in
multiple editions, which provide a convenient way of packaging specific
plug-in modules for different types of developers.  Currently, Sun offers
two Forte for Java editions:
     -- Community Edition -- Designed for developers who require an intuitive
Java IDE that simplifies the creation of JavaBeans(TM) architecture, applets
and simple database connectivity.  This edition is available at no charge for
download at http://sun.com/forte/ffj/ce .  Community Edition has already
generated nearly 600,000 downloads.
     -- Internet Edition -- Designed for professional developers creating
Web-enabled applications in support of the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise
Edition.  Plug-in modules simplify the creation of JSP pages, support
transparent persistence and streamline team development.  This edition will be
available for download at http://sun.com/forte/ffj/ie for US$495 and is
expected to be available at http://flashline.com .

     Availability and Platform Support
     Forte for Java, release 2.0, which is currently in beta, is slated for
general availability in January 2001.  Forte for Java is cross-platform
compatible, enabling development on the Solaris(TM) Operating Environment,
Linux and Windows platforms.  For more information on Forte products, please
visit: http://sun.com/forte .

     [Sun boilerplate]

CHEN PR, Inc.
1601 Trapelo Road
Waltham, Mass.  02451
P: 781-466-8282
F: 781-466-8989