Users hold fire on Java update

Sun Microsystems? Java Development Kit (JDK) 1.2, beta 4 saw the light of day last week with enhancements including a beefed-up interface.

The new features include a just-in-time compiler from Symantec, and extended graphical user interface components. JDK 1.2 also extends the access of applets to host system resources, using the certificate system introduced in JDK 1.1 to allow trusted applets to operate in a larger Java ?sandbox.?

Java applications developed using JDK 1.2, however, require the latest version of the Java Virtual Machine to exploit their full features ? with a client-based browser upgrade.

Web developer Entranet has been using Java since May last year, when it developed an Internet banking system for the Co-operative Bank. It used Java version 1.01 because it had the widest range of browser support at the client end.

Entranet?s director of engineering, Dharmesh Mistry said: ?Whacking in functionality is great but there must be support in the user base.?

John Welsh, an independent analyst, said: ?The trouble is that Sun are expanding like mad in all directions to keep up.?

The release is scheduled for late summer.

? Report by Lisa Kelly.