| |||||||||||
If only they'd done this years earlierIf only they'd done this years earlierPosted Nov 13, 2006 16:36 UTC (Mon) by dwheeler (subscriber, #1216)Parent article: Sun releases Java under GPLv2 If only they'd done this years earlier. Java would have been MUCH more successful than it has been, but the licensing issues have bottled it up. That's particularly true for applets - it's no big deal to install Java on a single server, but for Java to be useful in applets, you need to have it essentially universally deployed. Nevertheless, I'm DELIGHTED that Sun did this. I don't know where this puts the GNU Java work, but in some sense it doesn't matter. Sun would never have released its Java implementation until gcj etc. created a plausible alternative, and now we have the delightful circumstance in which we have several high-quality Java implementations.
(Log in to post comments)
If only they'd done this years earlier Posted Nov 13, 2006 21:26 UTC (Mon) by AJWM (subscriber, #15888) [Link] >for Java to be useful in applets, you need to have it essentially universally deployed.
And now there's really no reason for it not to be, at least on most platforms. Even if Microsoft chooses not to, there's no reason (well, beyond MSFT strong-arm tactics) for OEMs not to add it on. Certainly any Linux distro would include it.
> I don't know where this puts the GNU Java work,
I don't think there'll be a negative impact on gcj. That's a compile-to-native option that Sun doesn't offer. The opening of Sun's class library will help it.
The GNU Classpath project would seem to be rendered redundant, but I think what we might see is some merging of the Sun and Gnu class libraries to create a "best of both worlds" -- in some cases Sun's implementations are better, in other cases Gnu's. If there are issues with merging Gnu's code into the Sun project (eg Sun wants to be able to dual-license), then Gnu classpath sticks around and may become the favored choice.
As far as compatability testing -- is Sun releasing it's test suite? It still needs to retain control of it for trademark issues.
If only they'd done this years earlier Posted Nov 13, 2006 22:38 UTC (Mon) by bojan (subscriber, #14302) [Link] > As far as compatability testing -- is Sun releasing it's test suite?
Some information about that is here:
If only they'd done this years earlier Posted Nov 13, 2006 23:27 UTC (Mon) by AJWM (subscriber, #15888) [Link] Okay, so they'll be releasing bits and pieces of it over time.
There's still a role for Mauve, then.
GNU Classpath, gcj, kaffe & friends? Posted Nov 14, 2006 2:57 UTC (Tue) by mjw (subscriber, #16740) [Link] I don't know where this puts the GNU Java workWe also don't know yet, but boy are we happy hackers now! :) Thanks for sharing Sun!
|
|||||||||||