Sun wins bid to keep Java from splitting in two

Sun Microsystems this week won victories on two fronts in its efforts to keep specifications for real-time extensions to Java from splintering into two standards -- a prospect that has alarmed developers and potential users. During a week-long series of meetings, dinners and private discussions in San Diego, Sun this week made headway in its attempt to patch up differences with an alliance called the Java Real Time Working Group, which includes Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard. And to cap the intense diplomatic efforts, a national standards body, the National Committee for Information Technology Standardization, in a vote late Thursday rejected the Working Group_s proposal that the NCITS manage development of real-time Java standards separately from a Sun-sanctioned process.