Microsoft to Unveil Tools to Boost Use of Its Java

Microsoft Corp. is stepping up its drive to encourage software designers to use its own version of the Java programming language, in what some see as a possible blow to efforts to establish an alternative to the Windows operating system.

Microsoft plans to unveil tools Thursday that make it easier for software developers to write Windows applications in Microsoft’s version of the Java language. The announcement was expected to be endorsed by Apple Computer Inc., expanding a relationship started last summer when Microsoft took a $150-million stake in its onetime rival.

Sources close to the plans, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the announcement would be made at the Internet World trade show in Los Angeles.

Microsoft’s latest steps widen the industry rift over a software language that was intended to enable developers to write software that runs on all computers, from PCs to workstations, freeing people from excessive reliance on any one type of operating system.

Sun Microsystems Inc., which developed the Java language, has sued Microsoft, alleging Microsoft hijacked the language to create a version that works only on Windows computers.

Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft is one of more than 100 software companies licensing the Java language from Sun. It plans to offer its developers updated technology for using the language, strengthening an ongoing effort to encourage them to write Windows applications in Java.

Details of Apple’s role weren’t disclosed. But some industry analysts expected the companies to unveil plans for the Java software written by Windows developers to also run on Apple’s Macintosh computers.

Microsoft has said in the past that Java applications work best when created for a specific operating system, such as Windows.

A Microsoft spokeswoman declined to comment.