Sun goes multilingual with Java SE 6
Java SE 6 is the first version that lets developers mix Java technology with other languages

Over two years in the making, Sun Microsystems is due to release the latest version of its Java Platform Standard Edition (Java SE) software Monday, placing particular emphasis on the application development platform's support for other scripting languages.

Java SE 6 is the first version of the software where developers will be able to mix Java technology with other languages such as PHP, Python, Ruby and JavaScript.

"Going multilingual is a big theme of this release," said Mark Reinhold, Sun's chief engineer for Java SE.

Sun's approach used to be that Java was the solution for all developers' problems, he said. But it has since become clear to Sun that developers want to use other languages in conjunction with Java to create hybrid applications. Sun has created a collection of scripting engines on its Web site, and Java SE 6 includes a preconfigured version of Mozilla's open-source Rhino JavaScript engine.