Sun Microsystems Inc. plans to offer previews of the next releases of the enterprise version of Java and the NetBeans open-source developer tools platform. The company, in conjunction with the Java and NetBeans communities, is releasing the Java Enterprise Edition (Java EE) 5 Software Development Kit (SDK) and NetBeans Enterprise Pack 5.5. Java EE 5 specifications are expected to become final in the second quarter of 2006.

The Java EE 5 platform, featured as part of the SDK, is intended to accelerate Web development through increased support for  JavaServer Faces (JSF) 1.2, annotations and graphical user interface tools. JAX-WS 2.0 (Java API for XML-based Web Services) and JAXB 2.0 (Java Architecture for XML Binding) are featured for building Web services. The SDK includes a beta of the Sun Java System Application Server Version 9, which serves as the basis for the SDK. The application server is based on the Project GlassFish open-source application server project.

”Enterprise JavaBeans and JSF support in Java EE 5 enable building of Asynchronous JavaScript and XML Web clients. Java EE 5 is intended to simplify use of Java, which has become more complex as it has aged,” said Ken Drachnik, group product  marketing manager for the application platform group at Sun. "The theme of this release is to make Java simpler and easier  for programmers to use," Drachnik said.

NetBeans Enterprise Pack 5.5 serves as a preview of NetBeans 5.5. It includes a pre-release of NetBeans 5.5 integrated development environment functions, plus technologies previously available with the Java Studio Enterprise developer tool, particularly Unified Modeling Language 2.0 capabilities. Developers using the pack get access to tools enabling development on Java EE 5 and supporting service-oriented architecture. NetBeans 5.5 is expected to ship towards the end of 2006.

Sun is also announcing Sun Developer Service Plans (DSP), a program to shorten the application development life cycle. The program leverages Sun development tools when building enterprise applications for the Solaris 10 operating system and the  Java Enterprise System. Featured are product support and updates, training and programming advice.

DSP for Sun Studio 11 software are available now. Future versions of DSP for other Sun technologies will be released next year.