San Francisco, CA, June 11, 2003 - Zend Technologies Ltd., the creator of the PHP scripting engine, and provider of solutions to Develop, Protect and Scale enterprise PHP applications, today announced their participation in a Java? Specification Request (JSR) initiative with Sun Microsystems to create a standard method for accessing Java-based systems from scripting languages. The initiative is an important step in further strengthening PHP adoption by enterprises. Furthermore, it paves the way for standards-based middleware products that will provide scalable integration between PHP front-end web applications and Java business logic.

The new Java Specification Request - Scripting Pages in Java Web Applications, JSR-223 - will describe how to write portable Java classes that can be invoked from a page written in any scripting language, with PHP serving as the reference scripting language implementation. It will include details on security, resources and class loader contexts. It has been submitted to the Java Community Process Executive Committee and was approved on June 9, 2003. Sun Microsystems, as the JSR lead, has worked with Zend to create the JSR and assemble the expert group and endorsers, which include Apple, Borland, Macromedia, MySQL, Sun, Oracle and Zend.

"Sun's Java technology is the most popular platform for enterprise business logic and many organizations are finding they want to access that functionality from a variety of sources, including applications written in web scripting languages like PHP and ASP,? said Eduardo Pelegri-Llopart, Distinguished Engineer at Sun Microsystems. ?Other organizations want to extend applications written in these scripting languages with new functionality and would like to do so using the robust, scalable Java platform. This initiative extends the value and benefits of Java technology such as open standards through the JCP, platform independence, and ease of development to a much broader developer community."

The new specification will lead to products that enable building n-tier applications that have a web scripting front-end which utilizes Java objects. Examples of such applications include: a web-based scheduling system that accesses an enterprise-wide Java-based personal contacts system for names and e-mail addresses; or a web-based CRM system that connects to Java-based transactional systems for purchasing and transaction processing activities.

?For PHP to continue its growth, especially among enterprise users, it is critical that object-oriented capabilities be first-class,? said Zeev Suraski, Co-Designer of PHP, and Co-Founder and CTO of Zend Technologies. ?This is the reason we developed the Zend Engine 2 as the core of the upcoming PHP 5. And for enterprises that have Java-based business objects, we want to make utilization completely transparent, and scalable. Doing this in a standard way, with Sun and the JCP process, will enable PHP to be used in more places, for more mission-critical purposes.?

Zend and Sun will present the technology foundation for this JSR at the JavaOne Conference in San Francisco, in a technical session on Thursday June 12, 2003. A free iSeminar will also be delivered on zend.com. Registration and attendance at www.zend.com/iseminar.php.

About the Java Community Process

Since its introduction in 1995 as the open, inclusive process to develop and revise Java technology specifications, reference implementations, and technology compatibility kits, the Java Community Process program has fostered the evolution of the Java platform in cooperation with the international Java developer community. The JCP has over 650 company and individual participants; more than 200 Java technology specifications are in development in the JCP program out of which 46% are in final stages. For more information on the JCP program, please visit http://jcp.org

About Zend Technologies Ltd.

Zend Technologies, a leading Web infrastructure software company, is the internationally recognized authority in PHP. The company provides a complete platform that enables the rapidly growing market of PHP-enabled enterprises to Develop, Protect and Scale their PHP applications. Zend's founders are the designers of PHP and the Zend Engine, on which all PHP sites and applications are run. The company is an active leader in the PHP and open source communities, and plays a central role in the explosive growth of PHP, which is now being used in over 9 million web sites worldwide. Founded in 1999, Zend Technologies is a privately held, venture-backed firm, with management, marketing and R&D headquartered in Ramat Gan, Israel. Zend's products are available at www.zend.com, or by contacting a Zend representative by phone at 1-877-ZEND-PHP or by email at sales@zend.com.