April 03, 2006

Muddying what 'embedded java' means

Okay, so in the Java world there's:

  • J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition), just a collection of specifications and APIs using J2SE to manage lots of stuff.
  • J2SE (Java 2 Standard Edition), your basic Java
  • J2ME (Java 2 Micro Edition), which includes different configurations for devices of different capabilities -- why they made these look/sound so similar is beyond me:
    • CLDC (Connected Limited Device Configuration), for limited devices like cell phones
    • CDC (Connected Device Configuration) for more capable devices, like maybe a networked storage appliance or a phone/PDA

So now Sun is adding:

I can't quite tell what J2SE Embedded actually means -- maybe it's a series of custom builds with optional graphical capabilities? Maybe it just means that Sun will be offering it alongside their normal releases? Is it differentiated from J2ME/CDC in that only 'big computer' processors will be supported? (That is, no XScale, MIPS, etc.) Chould be interesting...

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