The Microsoft Java Virtual Machine (MSJVM) is a discontinued proprietary

Java virtual machine A Java virtual machine (JVM) is a virtual machine that enables a computer to run Java programs as well as programs written in other languages that are also compiled to Java bytecode. The JVM is detailed by a specification that formally describes ...

from

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

. It was first made available for

Internet Explorer 3 Microsoft Internet Explorer 3 (IE3) is a graphical web browser which was announced in March 1996, and was released on August 13, 1996 by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and on January 8, 1997 for Apple Mac OS (see IE for Mac). It began serious ...

so that users could run

Java applet Java applets were small applications written in the Java programming language, or another programming language that compiles to Java bytecode, and delivered to users in the form of Java bytecode. The user launched the Java applet from a ...

s when browsing on the

World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet. Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web se ...

. It was the fastest

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

-based implementation of a Java virtual machine for the first two years after its release.

Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Sun for short) was an American technology company that sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services and created the Java programming language, the Solaris operating system, ZFS, the ...

, the creator of Java, sued Microsoft in October 1997 for incompletely implementing the Java 1.1 standard. It was also named in the ''

United States v. Microsoft Corp. ''United States v. Microsoft Corporation'', 253 F.3d 34 (D.C. Cir. 2001), was a landmark American antitrust law case at the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The U.S. government accused Microsoft of illegally ...

'' antitrust civil actions, as an implementation of Microsoft's "

Embrace, extend and extinguish "Embrace, extend, and extinguish" (EEE), also known as "embrace, extend, and exterminate", is a phrase that the U.S. Department of Justice found that was used internally by Microsoft to describe its strategy for entering product categories involvin ...

" strategy. In 2001, Microsoft settled the lawsuit with Sun and discontinued its Java implementation. I
April 6, 2021 Microsoft announced its own Microsoft build of OpenJDK
This new distribution is based on

OpenJDK OpenJDK (Open Java Development Kit) is a free and open-source implementation of the Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE). It is the result of an effort Sun Microsystems began in 2006. The implementation is licensed under the GPL-2.0-only wi ...

without proprietary additions or extensions and adheres to th
GPLv2 + Classpath Exception
license.

History

Performance

The Microsoft JVM won the ''

PC Magazine ''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and have continued to the present d ...

'' Editor's Choice Awards in 1997 and 1998 for best Java support. In 1998 a new release included the

Java Native Interface In software design, the Java Native Interface (JNI) is a foreign function interface programming framework that enables Java code running in a Java virtual machine (JVM) to call and be called by native applications (programs specific to a hardwa ...

which supplemented Microsoft's proprietary Raw Native Interface (RNI) and

J/Direct J/Direct was a technology included in some versions of Microsoft Java Virtual Machine, which allowed direct calls into the Windows API. J/Direct was specific of Microsoft's Virtual Machine, in replacement of the standard Java Native Interface (JNI) ...

. Microsoft claimed to have the fastest Java implementation for Windows, although IBM also made that claim in 1999 and beat the Microsoft and Sun virtual machines in the ''

JavaWorld ''InfoWorld'' (abbreviated IW) is an information technology media business. Founded in 1978, it began as a monthly magazine. In 2007, it transitioned to a web-only publication. Its parent company today is International Data Group, and its siste ...

'' Volano test.

Antitrust trial

Microsoft's proprietary extensions to Java were used as evidence in the ''

'' antitrust civil actions. A Memorandum of the United States in Support of Motion for Preliminary Injunction in the case of United States of America vs. Microsoft claimed that Microsoft wanted to kill Java in the marketplace.

In short, Microsoft feared and sought to impede the development of network effects that cross-platform technology like
Netscape Navigator Netscape Navigator was a web browser, and the original browser of the Netscape line, from versions 1 to 4.08, and 9.x. It was the flagship product of the Netscape Communications Corp and was the dominant web browser in terms of usage share in ...
and Java might enjoy and use to challenge Microsoft's monopoly. Another internal Microsoft document indicates that the plan was not simply to blunt Java/browser cross-platform momentum, but to destroy the cross-platform threat entirely, with the "Strategic Objective" described as to "Kill cross-platform Java by grow ngthe polluted Java market."

Sun vs. Microsoft

In October 1997,

, the creator of Java, sued Microsoft for incompletely implementing the Java 1.1 standard. In January 2001, Sun and Microsoft settled the suit. Microsoft paid Sun $20 million and the two agreed to a plan for Microsoft to phase out products that included the older version of Microsoft Java that allegedly infringed on Sun's Java copyrights and trademarks. *

Office XP Microsoft Office XP (codenamed Office 10) is an Productivity software#Office suite, office suite which was officially revealed in July 2000 by Microsoft for the Microsoft Windows, Windows operating system. Office XP was released to manufacturing ...

Developer *

Office 2000 Microsoft Office 2000 (version 9.0) is a release of Microsoft Office, an office suite developed and distributed by Microsoft for the Windows family of operating systems. Office 2000 was released to manufacturing on March 29, 1999, and was made av ...

Developer *Office 2000 Premium Service Release 1 *

Microsoft BackOffice Server Microsoft BackOffice Server is a discontinued computer software package featuring Windows NT Server and other Microsoft server products that ran on NT Server. It was marketed during the 1990s and early 2000s for use in branch operations and for ...

2000 * Internet Security and Acceleration Server (ISA) 2000 *

Internet Explorer 5.5 Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 (IE5) is a graphical web browser, the fifth version of Internet Explorer, the successor to Internet Explorer 4 and one of the main participants of the first Browser wars, browser war. Its distribution methods and Wi ...

Visual Studio Visual Studio is an integrated development environment (IDE) from Microsoft. It is used to develop computer programs including web site, websites, web apps, web services and mobile apps. Visual Studio uses Microsoft software development platfor ...

6 Microsoft Developer Edition *

Windows 98 Windows 98 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows 9x family of Microsoft Windows operating systems. The second operating system in the 9x line, it is the successor to Windows 95, and was released to ...

and

Windows Me Windows Millennium Edition, or Windows Me (marketed with the pronunciation of the pronoun "me"), is an operating system developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows 9x family of Microsoft Windows operating systems. It is the successor to Windo ...

The Microsoft Java Virtual Machine was discontinued in 2003 in response to the Sun Microsystems lawsuit. Microsoft continued to offer support until December 31, 2007.

Windows XP

The initial release of

Windows XP Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade to its predecessors, Windows 2000 for high-end and ...

in 2001 did not ship with a Java virtual machine, because of the settlement with Sun. The settlement required people who wanted to run

Java Applets Java applets were small applications written in the Java programming language, or another programming language that compiles to Java bytecode, and delivered to users in the form of Java bytecode. The user launched the Java applet from a ...

Internet Explorer Internet Explorer (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows Internet Explorer, commonly abbreviated IE or MSIE) is a series of graphical user interface, graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft which was used in the Microsoft Wind ...

to download and install either the standard Sun Java virtual machine, or to download a copy of the Microsoft Java virtual machine. Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Windows XP was released on September 9, 2002. It contained post-RTM security fixes and hot-fixes, compatibility updates, optional

.NET Framework The .NET Framework (pronounced as "''dot net"'') is a proprietary software framework developed by Microsoft that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It was the predominant implementation of the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) until bein ...

support, and enabled technologies for new devices such as Tablet PCs. It also included the Microsoft Java virtual machine. On February 3, 2003, Microsoft re-released Service Pack 1 (SP1) as Service Pack 1a (SP1a). This release removed Microsoft's

in compliance with the lawsuit with

References

External links

Modern support of Java at Microsoft
* * *. Microsoft Press release, Dec. 7, 1998 *Darryl K. Taft
Microsoft to Junk Flagship Products, Cites Java Settlement
December 5, 2003.

eWeek ''eWeek'' (''Enterprise Newsweekly'', stylized as ''eWEEK''), formerly PCWeek, is a technology and business magazine. Previously owned by QuinStreet; Nashville, Tennessee marketing company TechnologyAdvice acquired eWeek in 2020. The print edi ...

*Joe Wilcox and Stephen Shankland
Microsoft's Java decision a mixed bag

CNET ''CNET'' (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. ''CNET'' originally produced content for radio and televi ...

, March 18, 2002
Microsoft Virtual Machine Download LinksDownload last version of MSJVM
{{Internet Explorer Discontinued Java virtual machines Discontinued Microsoft software Microsoft litigation