Sun has put some substance behind its Java open-source strategy with the release of Java Platform Standard Edition 6 (Java SE 6), a version two years in the making and featuring the input of over 330 external developers, it said. In a move likely to cause a stampede of interest, Sun is also offering 60 days of free support.

Key features of the release include new APIs that support more integration between Java and languages such as PHP, Python and Ruby, as well as tools that support the latest web services and Windows Vista.

The Vista support won a rare endorsement for Sun from Microsoft. In a statement, Brad Goldberg, general manager for Windows Client, said, “We welcome the Java SE 6 release and its compatibility with Windows Vista because we want to see a good Java technology experience available for customers using Windows.”

For business desktops, the platform has a layout manager based on the NetBeans GUI Builder, formerly known by the Matisse codename. In diagnostics, Java SE 6 supports Solaris 10’s DTrace for unblocking performance bottlenecks.

Laurie Tolson, Sun vice-president of Java developer products and programmes, said performance was up to 30 percent faster for some customers.

Sun said that broad server platforms will be the best solutions for Java performance, despite impressive benchmarks for Azul Systems, a company that makes Java-dedicated appliances based on its own processor designs. Sun is currently involved in a legal dispute with Azul.

“In general, custom hardware tends not to win in the long term,” said Mark Reinhold, Sun’s chief engineer for Java SE. “There are so many resources [at firms such as Intel, AMD and Sun] that it’s hard to bring a competitive solution for one type of language.”

Reinhold claimed that technology roadmaps for the mainstream server processor designers suggest they will win out in the end.

Sun’s recent announcement that it will open-source Java under the GPLv2 has aroused plenty of interest and Sun chief open source officer Simon Phipps said he is keeping a careful eye on GPLv3.

“GPLv3 is looking good,” Phipps said. “I believe it’s due out in mid-March and we’re looking at it very carefully. We’re very positive towards it and I have the highest regard for the GPLv3 process.”