Sun Microsystems today has made significant chunks of the Java language freely available (FAQ, announcement, Java ME) to the open source community.
Sun’s implementation of Java will be open-sourced under the version 2 of the General Public License (GPLv2), which governs Linux and many other open-source products.
The Sun-hosted Java.net Web site will provide access to Java Platform Micro Edition (Java ME) software for mobile phones and Java Platform Standard Edition (Java SE) software for desktop applications.
Sun already has open-sourced its server-side Java Platform Enterprise Edition software in a project called GlassFish. But it is now making that same software available under the GPLv2, rather than the Sun-conceived Community Development and Distribution License (CDDL), explains ZDNet.
The move will promote Java and make it easier to bundle with Linux, said Rich Green, Sun’s executive vice president of software.
“This is a milestone for the whole industry,” Green said. “Not only are we making an influential and widely used software platform for the Web available under an open-source license, it also underscores Sun’s commitment to changing the whole industry model for how software is enhanced and developed.”
According to Wikipedia, GPL grants the recipients of a computer program the following rights:
- the right to run the program, for any desired purpose.
- the right to study how the program works, and modify it. (Access to the source code is a precondition for this)
- the right to redistribute copies.
- the right to improve the program, and release the improvements to the public. (Access to the source code is a precondition for this)
The nature of the GPL is that additions to software available under the GPL must also use the license. However, Sun is employing the so-called “classpath exception,” a license addition that allows the company to place limits on the software that the GPL covers, Green said.The effect is that programmers who create applications using Sun’s open-source versions of Java can use choose a different license for their applications, he said.
The community around Java ME is called eMobile and Embedded, while the community around Java SE is called Open JDK.
Gaining developer followers is one of Sun’s top priorities as it seeks to revive its software business, explains ZDNet. “People have been hesitant to distribute Java worldwide with Linux (distributions) because of (concerns over) license alignment,” Green said. “This is the last gate to ensure that Java will be distributed worldwide.”
In recent weeks, both Microsoft and Adobe have extended a hand to the open-source developer community, explains NewsFactor. Adobe is contributing source for its popular Flash player to the Mozilla Foundation with an eye on Flash becoming an integral component of future version of the Firefox Web browser. And Microsoft is collaborating with Linux provider Novell in an agreement to share software patents.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is preparing to release a Community Technology Preview that utilizes cross-browser Web technologies and is designed to run on multiple operating systems and even mobile devices – with capabilities similar to Adobe’s Flash. WPF/E relies on XAML and JavaScript to build pages.
Related DailyWireless articles include; Motorola: It’s All About ME, Widgets Live, Web 2.0 Applications, Municipal Wireless Flash Applications and The Semantic Web.
