Kaul's blog post came in response to those questions and others by Java developer Osvaldo Pinali Doederlein.

The Sun executive also provided an updated road map for JavaFX, writing that the mobile platform -- now in beta -- will be released "by March" and a visual designer tool will be available in the middle of next year.

While JavaFX will compete with a range of other RIA toolsets, such as Adobe's AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime) and Microsoft's Silverlight, Sun is banking that Java's pervasive market penetration will give it an edge.