Embiggening Java
»From the java part of the brain.
From Tim Bray’s Ongoing:
Remember: However many forks there are, it ain’t Java unless it’s called “Java” or has the coffee-cup on it. If it has the name and cup, it is Java and it’s compatible. And Sun will absolutely enforce that in court if we have to. We have in the past and we will again.
In one short, sweet, and concise paragraph, Tim alleviated concerns I had that evil-doers could flood the market with cheap Java knockoffs. I’m as much for open source as the next software engineer, but the thought of supporting 9 different compilers, 10 API implementations of the class libraries, and 3 VM platforms sends shivers down my spine. By enforcing Java strictly, Sun is giving people a way to distinguish the official Java platforms from renegade implementations.
The facts from Mr. Bray:
- Unmodified GPL2 for our SE, ME, and EE code
- GPL2 + Classpath exception for the SE libraries. This means that the developers are free to link non-GPL code to the Java libraries; similar to LGPL.
- Javac and HotSpot and JavaHelp code drops today
- Expect libraries to follow. The rest of the stack will be released in 2007
- External committers are a design goal
- No short-term changes in the TCK or JCP
By maintaining control over the TCK/trademark process, Sun gets to keep a high bar of quality and also prevents new functionality from breaking backwards compatibility. I like how this is panning out. Hats off to Jonathan, Rich, Tim, and James for doing a great job of raising their baby and enbiggening open source.
Check out more information at sun.com/opensource/java.
Update: A Noble Spirit Embiggens the Smallest Man