Package: java-package
Version: 0.27
Severity: wishlist
Java is intended to be architecture-independent. This architecture
independence is achieved through architecture-dependent JREs and JDKs.
However, much of the contents of JRE and JDK packages created by
make-jpkg are architecture-independent. I believe that putting all the
contents of a tarball (or other downloaded file) into an indivisible
blob of a .deb file is not an optimal way to package non-free JREs and
JDKs for Debian or Ubuntu. The architecture-dependent bits and the
architecture-independent bits should go into separate packages.
Packages of the GNU Java implementation already have such a
modularization. GCJ largely represents the architecture-independent
bits of that implementation, and GIJ the architecture-dependent ones.
AFAIK, GIJ is fully compatible with the architecture-dependent bits of
Sun JREs and JDKs as a drop-in replacement for them, but GCJ will not
be compatible as a drop-in replacement for their
architecture-independent bits for the foreseeable future. If someone
downloaded a Sun JRE or JDK and used make-jpkg to create two packages
from it (for purposes of this discussion, let's call them sun_i386 and
sun_all), they would be able to install GIJ and sun_all, thus creating
a hybrid environment from the aggregation of free and non-free
software. I believe this would lead to the more widespread adoption of
GIJ, especially on architectures Sun does not support, and as a result,
PowerPC users would have another alternative to IBM's
less-than-reasonable licensing terms, ARM users would not be limited to
a 1.3.1 JRE or JDK if they wanted Sun compatibility, and other people
would benefit in other similar ways. In turn, the greater proliferation
of GIJ should generate greater interest in GCJ. I would be very
interested in any arguments against making java-package enable this to
happen. Thank you.
--
"Consider that two wrongs never make a right, but that three do."
--National Lampoon
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