Harmonize Java -- Open the Java Community
Posted by Ian Holsman
Well it looks like the ASF has finally ran out of it patience with the Java Community Process and Sun’s refusal to allow Apache to use the TCK (Test Certification Kit) to certify it’s open JVM ‘Harmony’ with.
This is after 7 months of trying to reach a conclusion privately to something in a signed contract!
For me this sounds like a bit of a division inside of Sun. You have one part saying they want to be Open and Free, and harness the power of Open Source. This camp is responsible for releasing Tomcat, and getting Apache to participate in the JCP. They recognize what a open community can do, and the power of having multiple companies actively developing something.
You then have the old guard. These are the people who have revenue targets from J2SE licenses. They see this as a loss of potential royalty which would affect their bonuses, and a loss of control. No wonder they are baulking on their contract.
I guess Sun needs to answer the question.
Do you want to be open so that other companies have the freedom to use the JDK as they see fit (including commercial purposes).
to rephrase.. do you want to be owner of a small pie, or a participant of a much larger one?
personally I would prefer the bigger pie.
It will be interesting to see which Sun chooses.
(as well as how they try to spin this into a GPL/ASL war, which it isn’t it’s a contract dispute)