Sun Lowers Barriers to Open-Source Java

Shyane writes "Sun Microsystems is making it easier for open-source programmers to ensure their Java versions meet the company's compatibility requirements, but the deal extends only to those involved in Sun's own open-source Java project. The program grants access to its Java Technology Compatibility Kit to anyone with an open-source Java project that is based substantially on Sun's open-source Java software and governed by the GPL. Programmers need access to the test kit to prove that a project is in compliance with the Java specification. Projects that pass Sun's compatibility kit tests also can use the official Java logos for free."

Re:don't need this

[eln]

Sun's test suite isn't just to verify your code works, it's to verify your implementation of Java complies with the standards before they allow you to slap the Java logo on it. It's a good way to keep things open while still maintaining control over the Java standard, and preventing fragmentation of the language.

Re:Openness!

[Anonymous Coward]

IBM does a decent java implementation for PowerPC Linux. I didn't think it was too bad when I last tried it on an imac that i'd upgraded to Linux. I seem to remember that the package had a terribly obscure name and took some painful searching of IBM's web site to actually get the thing. Sadly all three of my imacs have hardware failures, and I can't remember what it was called.
I hope that this may help you.

Just starting out with Java

[RockHorn]

I am a fledgling java developer, and so far I'm loving it! Every time I hear about the advances Sun is making towards GPLing java, the more I feel justified in taking the time to learn java.

I came into this business from a bit of a back door (although I suspect it to be a common back door these days). I started with spaghetti code PHP, moved to OOP php with php4, then php5. I am now quite frustrated by the partial OOP implementation of php5, as I develop more complex applications. I become even more frustrated with PHP the more I learn about java. The type safety at compile time makes it far easier to develop bug-free code. Method overloading is problematic in php, I usually end up implementing a single function with all sorts of optional arguments, and checks to determine whether a particular parameter is an array.

Additionally, Java gives me code re-use at it's ultimate. For instance, I write a single been that updates our LDAP; I then use that bean in a JSF web application, in a batch program running on an an IBM iSeries, in a command line application on Linux, and most recently in a Swing application. Having written the bean once when developing the first application, I never had to write a single LDAP query when developing my latter applications. Any bugs I find in the bean from one of the apps means the bug gets fixed for all the other apps.

Not to mention that I do my development on my Mac, and deploy software across our organization to Windows and Linux desktops.

Write once run anywhere for sure - I'm sold!

Re:Finaly a good native compiler.

[loubs001]

Yeah, I had a problem with that too. Because they added proprietary extensions that breached the specification (including Windows specific features), as well as omitting required features. Code written for the Microsoft VM wouldnt run on anyone elses. An implementation must be certified as compliant in order to use the Java brand. Microsoft's wasnt, so Sun sued. They won, and rightfully so.

But I'm glad this happened. It caused Microsoft to go off and create rival platform (.NET) and a rival language (C#). Maybe not so great for Sun, but great for the developer community, because it created good solid competition and both platforms are advancing at a rapid pace because of this.

Re:Openness!

[Rexdude]

I'm part of the Java6 dev team..in addition to linux, IBM Java is also available for the following platforms-

• Windows (IA32 and AMD64)
• Linux(IA32,AMD64,PowerPC 32/64)
• z/OS(31 and 64 bit-yup,not a typo, z/OS uses a 31 bit addressing scheme)
• AIX (PowerPC 32/64)
• z/Linux 31 and 64 (Linux on system z)
• See here [ibm.com] for the early release program.