New SpringSource Java platform released

SpringSource has released what it calls the SpringSource Application Platform, a Java development system with a modular design.

The beta version is online now for download. Final versions of community and commercial versions are due in June.

A press statement says the new software combines the Spring Portfolio with the Eclipse Equinox project and Apache Tomcat.

CEO Rod Johnson talked with ZDNet about the new software, and emphasized its flexibility. "Making it modular changes the game," he said.

That's because Java is being found in so many different places -- in mobile applications, on servers, in batch systems. A one size fits all solution no longer works.

"With modularity you create a kernel infrastructure that can accommodate different personalities by just loading what's appropriate. This does to the platform what Spring did to the component model in enterprise Java."

He continued:

Modularity includes in development the ability to quickly start up the server and have faster round-tripping, seeing modifications quickly reflected on the server. It allows creation of artifacts, and the ability to break applications into modules. If you need to deliver patches you can modify just parts of the server without having to re-start.

This is very important in a world where virtualization is becoming increasingly important. Also the ability to modularize applications means you have the ability to re-release and update business logic without taking the application down in production.

It will be fun to see the response from RedHat's JBOSS and from Sun itself.