Michael Torrie
Thu, 24 Mar 2005 22:48:10 -0800
On Thu, 2005-03-24 at 17:49 -0700, Grant Robinson wrote: > It's quite easy for people to sit and pontificate about open-sourcing > things that they either a) do not own, or b) have a vested interest in. > Witness IBM and Sun in their on-going battle over open-sourcing Java. > It totally benefits IBM, and Sun stands to lose control and face the > possibility having multiple incompatible implementations of Java.
The fragmentation issue has very little to do with something being open or closed. Placing Java under a completely free license would dramatically accelerate its adoption in every aspect of the unix world. As an example I give you the Mono project. The mono project is a completely open (and forkable) work and growing quite a bit. They follow the EMCA spec fairly well and have a high degree of compatibility with MS's .NET implementation. Mono's openness has the following advantage over Java: Anyone can port it to any platform. Right now you need license from Sun to port Java to an unsupported platform and then only a binary can be release for free (the source remains under sun license). Finding a Linux version of Java for the Alpha or some other architecture is impossible and likely to always be. Mono may not reach Alpha either, but it could. I am also extremely wary of vendor lock-in (I've been burned before). There is nothing that says Java will always be available on terms that make your business succeed, for example. With Mono at least I know that even if Novell completely turned about on me, I could use my own ingenuity and make things run. Having a gnu environment (not called Java due to licensing) that can run Java apps and services provides a safety net here, so this one argument is less serious than it once was. IBM is investing in GPL (free) software for a reason. They have finally discovered that what goes around comes around. Free software allows IBM to raise the bar across the entire industry in a way that's fair to everyone while allowing IBM to compete with industry in areas that really matter and are exciting (IE goods and services built on top of linux). Sun has not yet "got it." As such they will and are failing. I'm coming to the conclusion that had MS not managed to position itself into the monopoly position it finds itself in now that it would also be dying. Except that MS is way smarter than Sun and way to shrewd. They will compete directly with OSS using whatever means work. Now having said that, Java's successes and failures to date have had very little to do with free software or openness. Java is a huge success in the server arena, but a complete failure on the desktop. I anticipate that .NET will be a success on both counts, giving Java a run for its money. Whether Mono could succeed without Microsoft is another story. And whether or not Mono's advantages over Java for being GPL and free really mean anything in the long term is unknown. -- Michael Torrie <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> -------------------- BYU Unix Users Group http://uug.byu.edu/ The opinions expressed in this message are the responsibility of their author. They are not endorsed by BYU, the BYU CS Department or BYU-UUG. ___________________________________________________________________ List Info: http://uug.byu.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/uug-list