Great! So now we have a new name for JAX-RPC 2.0. Will they choose something with a little more ‘pizazz’ to it? Nah, instead they will opt for something that seems very similar to the original name it was given.

JAX-RPC 2.0, a planned upgrade to a Java specification for use in Web services and remote procedure calls in Java, is getting a name change to JAX-WS, Sun Microsystems (Profile, Products, Articles) acknowledged on Wednesday.

The JAX-RPC name, which stands for Java API for XML-based RPC, is misleading because developers assume it is only about RPC, according to Doug Kohlert, a Sun staff engineer, in his blog this week. “By renaming JAX-RPC to JAX-WS, we can eliminate this confusion,” Kohlert wrote. JAX-WS stands for Java API for XML Web Services.

JAX-WS will be different than JAX-RPC 1.1 because it uses the JAXB (Java API for XML Binding) specification for data binding. This has introduced source compatibility issues with JAX-RPC 1.1, involving different code and schemas. “Although the renaming does not ease this migration, it does let the developer know that these are two separate technologies, hence the more difficult migration is more palatable,” according to Kohlert. [Read the rest]