CRIKEY! He can swallow whole companies! But not communities.

Apr 21, 2009, 22:32 (0 Talkback[s])
(Other stories by Jason Perlow)

[ Thanks to Jason Perlow for this link. ]

"So let's get down to the projects that people are worried about. Certainly, Java, which was released by Sun under GPL2 in 2007 is one of concern because the Java Specification Requests which formalize the standardization of the language in order to be certified as "Kosher" Java is controlled by Sun under the Java Community Process (JCP) which is presumably going to be run by Oracle shortly. What this means is if you want to build a Java Virtual Machine that is certified as actual Java in the future, or propose new additions to Java, you'll have to play the same game with Oracle that you've been playing with Sun all this time. If Oracle is actually smart, they'll make it easier for companies to participate in this process. Then nobody will complain about the swallowing. Many people use the official Sun JVM, but some companies have licensed "Kosher" Java as defined under the JCP and JSRs and built their own. IBM, for example, has its J9, which it uses with its Websphere Application Server (WAS). Unisys has also built its own version for large SMP systems, although it has not been updated in some time. It should also be noted that a fully Open Source, Free GPL2 JVM has been released as OpenJDK and IcedTea and only has a very small amount of legal "encumberances" left in it before it can be considered a completely self-hosting environment and free of any dependent pieces that are in binary-only form.

"The question of course remains is if Oracle will continue in Sun's tradition with the OpenJDK, permit it to be fully recognized as an implementation of "Kosher" Java and if it will allow the JCP to continue as normally or even in a more open and collaborative manner, as some of it’s critics would hope. Indeed, If it throttles back and Oracle follows its usual constrictus siliconvallis instincts, that doesn't mean it's the end the world. It means that like many projects before it, IcedTea and OpenJDK will inevitably fork, and some other organization will issue its own JCP and JSR replacement."

Complete Story

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