Oracle Evolves Java ME Platform with Submission of New Java Specification Requests

Considering the growing popularity of Java as the application platform for mobile, Oracle (News - Alert) announced plans to modernize the Java Platform Micro Edition (Java ME) through the submission of new Java Specification Requests (JSRs) to the Java Community Process (JCP).

Oracle and members of the Java community will submit new JSRs for Java ME 7 and begin development within the JCP.

Java, rated as the No.1 programming language according to TIOBE Programming Community Index, powers more than 3 billion devices in the world. There are over 9 million Java developers worldwide. Over 125 million Java-based TV devices have been deployed.

"We are very excited about the future of Java ME, which will further extend the world's leading application platform for mobile and edge devices and offer increased opportunity for both Java developers and mobile operators," said Adam Messinger, vice president of development, Oracle Fusion Middleware, in a statement. 

"Greater alignment between Java ME and the JDK will enable Java developers to leverage consistent tooling and resources, unlocking new possibilities and helping to enable a new wave of innovative applications,” Messinger added.

Future platform extensions will enable operators to push critical applications and services directly to mobile devices, helping to further increase their handset presence and strengthen their consumer relationships, according to Messinger.

As the first component of the evolution, Oracle will submit an update to the Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC) virtual machine and library specifications to enable better alignment with Java Development Kit (JDK) 7.

Java ME developers benefit from the latest Java SE language enhancements and leverage consistent debugging, profiling and diagnostics across both platforms. Java ME 7 specification will enable new value added services and deliver a smart-phone experience on feature-phones.

The company also plans to add new APIs to extend the reach of Java ME 7 to turn billions of connected embedded devices into application platforms. The Java Card 3.0.4 platform will further increase Java Card technology adoption in the emerging areas of Near Field Communication (NFC) mobile payments and machine to machine (M2M) secure devices.

In another recent development, Oracle announced the release of Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse 11g. The latest release of Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse builds on existing support for Oracle Application Development Framework (ADF), provides major enhancements to Eclipse refactoring and introduces new tools for Oracle Coherence.