Running other languages with the Java platform is nothing new, Willett said.

"That's been a trend from the very beginning, of accommodating other languages, running other languages on Java application servers, and it'll probably continue," Willett said.

Sun also has set forth a road map for its open source GlassFish application server, which has served as a reference implementation of Java EE 5. Due in the first quarter of 2007, version 2 of GlassFish will feature a new Web services stack and enhancements in the area of performance and startup time. Also included will be load balancing, cluster management, and failover capabilities as well as some support for scripting.

The Web services stack will boast interoperability with Microsoft's .Net platform and with WS-* specifications such as WS-Addressing. Planned scripting support will include some levels of backing for the jMaki (https://ajax.dev.java.net/) and Phobos (https://phobos.dev.java.net/) projects. JMaki is a mechanism for identifying and defining tags for AJAX components, such as a drag-and-drop tag. Phobos is a lightweight Web application environment that utilizes scripting.

Version 3 of GlassFish, expected in late 2007 will feature larger architectural changes, high availability, more modularization, and better scripting, including expanded support for Phobos.