Sun takes development beyond Java

Sun Microsystems will next week announce an extensible markup language (XML) compiler, in a move that extends its application development tools beyond Java.

The Sun eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformation (XSLT) compiler helps applications translate XML scripts into Java code that can then be executed by web-based applications.

The launch will clarify Sun's direction in XML, which is emerging as the common language for business-to-business ecommerce applications. Sun sees XML, which makes data portable, and Java, which makes code portable, as complementary technologies.

The move is also a reaction to Microsoft's launch of the C# (C sharp) programming language. Microsoft said C# makes it easier to work with the emerging XML standard by eliminating much of the computer code developers had to write in other languages.

Jon Collins, a senior analyst at Bloor Research, said XML is becoming a standard language for computers to talk together at a business level, but he believes Sun's announcement is more about marketing than technology.

"This doesn't sound particularly world beating. Interoperability has to be the key and not translation," said Collins.