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IBM offers Java coders free runtime for Linux and tool previews

• By Rich Seeley
• August 24, 2004

Seeking to win over Java coders working on Linux, IBM is making its Java Runtime Environment (JRE) for Linux available as a free download on its developerWorks Web site. Java developers can also download the latest version of the open-source Eclipse SDK from the same site.

'This makes it easier for developers to work with Eclipse,' says Gina Poole, IBM vice president developer marketing and Web communities for ISV and developer relations. 'In the past, Java developers would have to download Eclipse from Eclipse.org and then go to Sun and download the Java runtime environment. We're making it easier for them by putting both together.'

It also makes it easier for developers learning Eclipse and Linux to eventually move up to more sophisticated IBM tools, including those in its WebSphere Studio, Tivoli and Rational product families, Poole explains.

In announcing the free developerWorks offer, IBM cites IDC projections that Linux will run on 25 million desktops by 2007 -- good news for Big Blue's marketing strategy that bets heavily on the not-from-Microsoft OS. However, Poole points out that a version of the development package, including the IBM JRE, is available for Microsoft Windows, giving developers the option of working with Microsoft products.

IBM's Eclipse development package is available in the developerWorks Java Zone at http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/java/jdk/eclipse. For Linux developers interested in more sophisticated IBM tools, they can order a free Linux Software Evaluation Kit DVD at http://ibm.com/developerWorks/speed . The kit includes trial versions of WebSphere Studio Application Developer as well as versions of IBM DB2, WebSphere and Tivoli middleware for Linux.