| In November of this year Sun Microsystems moved | | | | IBM has been after Sun to take Java to open source |
| to "open source" status for Java, after a decade of | | | | status for years. Their Works Projects has been a |
| maintaining proprietary status for the portable | | | | center for the development of open source |
| programming language. Specifically, Sun has placed | | | | products, primarily based on Linux. From their |
| Java into the public domain by putting it under GPL - | | | | perspective, Sun's decision to grant GPL status for |
| an acronym for General Public License. What this | | | | Java is viewed as an opportunity to unite with Linux |
| means is that software programmers will have vastly | | | | and provide a stronger platform to challenge |
| increased freedom to develop programs based on | | | | Microsoft. The politics of software can be |
| Java and to develop modifications for the language | | | | enormously complicated, especially when there's an |
| itself. | | | | elephant like Microsoft in the house. But what Sun |
| It also puts Sun into the mainstream with other | | | | has accomplished with this move is provide an |
| major platform developers such as Linux. While the | | | | opportunity for programmers to zero in on Java |
| company had put its Solaris operating system into | | | | products as potentially large revenue sources. |
| open source status some time ago, Java is a highly | | | | Unlike Linux, which was spun off of UNIX to provide |
| distributed consumer platform and providing open | | | | an alternative to Windows, Java stands in a class of |
| source access to it gives the company a real boost | | | | its own. While Linux has survived in the marketplace, |
| in its standing among its peers. Perhaps more | | | | it has never mounted a major challenge to Windows. |
| important, it will stimulate further development of | | | | Java's unique qualities and the intellectual property |
| consumer oriented Java-based programs. It is | | | | that protects those qualities will now be an open |
| estimated that eight out of every ten cell phones | | | | book for programmers developing new applications. |
| have a Java application running on them. | | | | It will also provide the opportunity to bundle Java |
| A GPL use requires that any product developed | | | | products with Linux based software. Sun's internal |
| under such licensure be returned to the "open source | | | | interest in this move is to stimulate more developers |
| community" and remain, in effect accessible to all. | | | | to use the language, in order to revive its own |
| Sun's variation on this principle has an exception for | | | | internal software business. Since taking a huge hit in |
| applications built on the Java "Virtual Machine," a | | | | their high-end server market, Sun has been struggling |
| platform that the company made available to | | | | to find a new path and has increasingly looked to |
| software developers some time ago. | | | | software as an opportunity. |
| What this exception does is allow continued | | | | Sun's EVP for software summed up the value of the |
| development of proprietary software written for | | | | move for the company and its product. "People have |
| Java, which keeps the language viable as a platform | | | | been hesitant to distribute Java worldwide with Linux |
| for revenue producing products. Prior to the switch | | | | (distributions) because of (concerns over) license |
| to GPL status, Java program developers had to pay | | | | alignment," Green said. "This is the last gate to ensure |
| a licensing fee to Sun. | | | | that Java will be distributed worldwide. |