The
Java programming language was introduced by Sun in May 1995. Jim Mitchell and Peter Madany at JavaSoft designed a new operating system,
codenamed Kona, written completely in Java. In March 1996, Tom Saulpaugh joined the now seven-person Kona team to design an
input/output (I/O) architecture, having come from Apple as Macintosh system software engineer since June 1985 and co-architect of
Copland. JavaOS was first announced in a
Byte article. In 1996, JavaSoft's official product announcement described the compact OS designed to run "in anything from net computers to pagers". IBM indicated its focus was more on network computer
thin clients, specifically to replace traditional
IBM 3270 "green screen" and Unix
X terminals, and to implement single application clients.
Chorus, a distributed real-time operating system, was used for its microkernel technology. thereby creating the Chorus/Jazz product, which was intended to allow Java applications to run in a distributed, real-time embedded system environment. Then in September 1997, it was announced that Sun Microsystems was acquiring Chorus Systèmes SA. In 1999, Sun and IBM announced the discontinuation of the JavaOS product. As early as 2003, Sun materials referred to JavaOS as a "
legacy technology", recommending migration to
Java ME, leaving the choice of specific OS and Java environment to the implementer. == Design ==