Sun Microsystems Inc. on Monday night posted a prerelease, "snapshot" version of Java 2 Standard Edition 6.0, code-named Mustang, which represents the next generation of the Java platform.
Accessible at https://j2se.dev.java.net/, the snapshot is an early version of the code for developer perusal and includes the latest features and fixes to the platform.
"We just stuck the source code for the next generation of the Java platform on the Web last night," said Matt Thompson, director of developer outreach and open source strategy at Sun, during an SDForum open source event on Tuesday.
"The sources and binaries are there," Thompson said.
Main themes of Mustang include ease-of-development, performance, and Web services. The estimated time of delivery for the general-release version of J2SE 6.0 is spring 2006.
The code is offered via a Java Research license under an open source format. Despite the open source availability of the early Mustang code, Sun still maintains its position that Java projects conform to the Java specification to maintain compatibility and that the platform itself will not be open source.
The implications of offering the code through the research license are still under investigation, Thompson said.