Netscape to License Sun's Java Programming Language

Mountain View, Calif. - May 23, 1995 - Furthering the relationship between two of the most prominent companies supplying tools and solutions for the Internet, Netscape Communications Corporation and Sun Microsystems, Inc. announced today that Netscape intends to license Sun's Java programming language to implement in the Netscape Navigator browser.

The Java language, the result of several years of research and development at Sun Microsystems, is the first to provide a comprehensive solution to the challenges of programming for the Internet, providing portability, security, advanced networking and reliability without compromising performance. Netscape Navigator will be able to download small Java software programs, called applets, which run on the client system.

Programs that are built with the Java language are transported securely through the network using Netscape's Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) open protocol in a platform-independent format. The Java language supports a complex, networked environment of clients and servers, and can link in new forms of code without requiring anything of the user.

Netscape Navigator, which began shipping in December 1994, is currently ranked as the No. 1 browser on the World Wide Web, with more than 75 percent of the browser market according to independent estimates.

Eric Schmidt, chief technical officer at Sun, envisioned a whole host of services that will be created through the combination of Java and Netscape technologies. "By integrating the Java language into Netscape Navigator, Netscape and Sun will enable a whole new wave of Internet services that we are just beginning to imagine, such as interactive advertising and real-time stock portfolio management. The possibilities are nearly limitless," he said.

Marc Andreessen, vice president of technology at Netscape, said, "Java is a leading-edge development language that provides important characteristics such as portability, security and networking capabilities. We plan to use the Java language to increase the extensibility of Netscape Navigator and to create a whole new class of client/server applications."

Specifically, Netscape intends to license the Java Runtime Interpreter, the Java Foundation Classes and Java Compiler and Development Tools. Netscape plans to integrate the Java language into future versions of Netscape Navigator.

The Java language has been available since April for developers using the Sun Solaris or SunOS platforms. Sun also announced today the availability of the language for Microsoft Windows NT and Microsoft Windows 95 operating systems.

Sun and Netscape have maintained a series of collaborations since Netscape was founded in 1994. Sun is already offering Netscape's open software products, including: Netscape Navigator, a powerful commercial network navigator, using principles of point-and-click Internet navigation; and the Netscape server line, which allows companies or individuals to easily set up and maintain servers for publishing information and conducting commercial operations on the Internet or corporate IP networks.

The two companies have also collaborated on various research and development projects aimed at promoting open standards for Internet protocols.

Netscape Communications Corporation is a premier provider of open software to enable people and companies to exchange information and conduct commerce over the Internet and other global networks. The company was founded in April 1994 by Dr. James H. Clark, founder of Silicon Graphics, Inc., a Fortune 500 computer systems company; and Marc Andreessen, creator of the NCSA Mosaic research prototype for the Internet. Privately held, Netscape Communications Corporation is based in Mountain View, California.

With revenues in excess of $5 billion, Sun Microsystems, Inc., is a world leader in the design, manufacture and sale of open network computing products and services, including workstations and servers, microprocessor and system application-specific IC design, system software, networking products, professional service and support and aftermarketing services. The company's SPARC workstations, multiprocessing servers, SPARC microprocessors, Solaris operating software and UNIX service organization each rank No. 1 in the UNIX industry. Founded in 1982, Sun is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., and employs more than 13,000 employees in 32 offices worldwide.

Sun, the Sun logo, Sun Microsystems, The Network is the Computer, Java, SunOS and Solaris are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. All SPARC trademarks, including the SCD Compliant logo, are trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International, Inc. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based on an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed through X/Open Company, Ltd. Netscape and Netscape Navigator are trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation. NCSA Mosaic is a trademark of the University of Illinois. All other product or service names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.