Netscape Welcomes Announcement of New Internet Standard for Scripting Language Based on Netscape's JavaScript

European Open Standards Body Announces New Scripting Language Specification as Open Internet Standard

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (June 26, 1997) -- Netscape Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: NSCP) today welcomed the announcement of a new cross-platform scripting language standard for the Internet by ECMA, a European association for standardizing information and communications systems. The announcement of the Internet scripting language specification, derived from Netscape's JavaScript specification, was made at an ECMA conference in Manchester, England, this week. The standard will be known as ECMA-262 (ECMAScript).

Netscape initiated work on the standard when it first proposed JavaScript as its basis six months ago. Netscape then worked together with ECMA and other industry leaders including Borland and Sun to finalize the standard. Its acceptance by ECMA so quickly after submission sets the stage for a new generation of cross-platform applications and tools for the Internet, Intranets and Extranets.

"ECMA's rapid acceptance of ECMA-262 as a standard illustrates the industry support for an open, cross-platform scripting language," said Rick Schell, senior vice-president of product development for Netscape. "JavaScript has been widely and rapidly accepted by the developer community since it was first introduced and today's announcement should help fuel further proliferation of crossware applications, a new class of applications that span operating systems, networks and businesses on Intranets and Extranets."

"The cooperation and speed accompanying the acceptance of the ECMAScript standard reflects the importance of open standards and the efficient exchange of information between platforms," said Jan van den Beld, secretary general of ECMA. "Open standards remove technical barriers for information distribution and are essential for industry growth."

JavaScript, together with Java and other open Internet standards such as HTML and Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) provides the foundation for Netscape ONE, Netscape's open network environment for creating robust, cross-platform Internet, Intranet and Extranet applications. Over 500,000 JavaScript-enabled pages are now available on the Internet, according to http://www.hotbot.com/. Those pages are fully supported by the newly released Netscape SuiteSpot 3.0 family of server software and Netscape Communicator client software. Netscape is the most widely deployed platform for running Java-based applications. Netscape estimates that more than 60 million people worldwide have used its client software.

"The establishment of this new standard and its implementation in JavaScript offers indisputable evidence of the industry's commitment to cross-platform, open standards across the Internet," said Jim Mitchell, vice-president of technology and architecture at JavaSoft, a business unit of Sun Microsystems, Inc. "We support JavaScript and look forward to making it work well for Java developers."

"The standardization of JavaScript into this new standard is a significant step towards a completely open and platform-independent general-purpose scripting language for Internet development," said Dr. Rick LeFaivre, Borland International's chief technical officer. "As an early adopter of JavaScript, Borland will continue to support the new standard in our award-winning IntraBuilder development environment for building dynamic crossware applications."

Netscape's JavaScript is an easy-to-use object-oriented scripting language for developing client and server Internet, Intranet and Extranet applications. It enables users to create sophisticated, cross-platform applications quickly and efficiently. Netscape recently released Visual JavaScript, one of the very first JavaScript tools which enables developers to use a point-and-click interface to rapidly develop applications and application components.

ECMA, formerly known as the European Computer Manufacturers Association, is an international standards body and a principal participant in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ECMA will pursue ISO approval for ECMA-262 (ECMAScript) in the near future. The new standard specification can be downloaded at no charge from ECMA's Web site at http://www.ecma.ch/.

Netscape Communications Corporation is a leading provider of open software for linking people and information over enterprise networks and the Internet. The company offers a full line of clients, servers, development tools and commercial applications to create a complete platform for next-generation, live on-line applications. Traded on NASDAQ under the symbol "NSCP," Netscape Communications Corporation in based in Mountain View, California.

Additional information on Netscape Communications Corporation is available on the Internet at http://home.netscape.com/, by sending email to info@netscape.com or by calling 415/937-2555 (corporations) or 415/937-3777 (individuals).

Netscape and Netscape Navigator are registered trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation in the United States and other countries. Netscape's logos and Netscape product and service names are also trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation, which may be registered in other countries. Java and JavaScript are trademarks of Sun Microsystems Incorporated. Other product and brand names are trademarks of their respective owners.