Treffer: Sun plans Java platform extensions.

With its Javaone conference behind it, Sun Microsystems Inc. is looking ahead to extensions of the Java platform such as high-performance computing and new scripting programmer support-and possibly a whole new language. Officials for the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which is contracting the work, said the project aims to bridge the gap between late-1980s-based technology in many HPC environments and the needs of current environments. The project also features funding from IBM and Cray Inc. Meanwhile, Sun, of Santa Clara, California, may be considering developing a new language, said Graham Hamilton, a Sun distinguished engineer who shepherded Java 5.0. Hamilton said Sun is looking beyond Java 5.0 to better data integration. The next version, 6.0, will be code-named Mustang; Java 7.0 will be code-named Dolphin, he said. Hamilton and Gosling said Sun is doing more to support scripting, working with languages such as Perl, PHP, JavaScript and Groovy.