“IBM has announced its intention to join the OpenJDK project,
the official open source Java runtime effort that is led by Oracle.
IBM’s move to take a more active role in OpenJDK could end the
company’s commitment to Apache’s Harmony project, and it should
dissolve a long-standing stalemate that has hindered collaboration
in the Java ecosystem.“The Harmony project, which is developed by the Apache Software
Foundation, offers an open source Java runtime that is distributed
under the permissive Apache license. Sun’s controversial refusal to
provide critical Java compatibility tests under licensing terms
that were suitable for the Harmony project created a divisive feud
that polarized major Java stakeholders.“Sun’s position on the issue conflicted with a policy
established in 2006 through the Java Community Process
(JCP)—the official Java governance body—which affirmed
that the licensing terms of the compatibility tests would not
preclude third-party open source implementations.”