I usually can't stand flame bait like this but I wanted to point out one
thing.
Sun has clearly recognized some of the advantages of the Open Source model,
which is the entire reason why they have adopted the 'Sun Community Source
License' for a large number of their products -- including the JDK.
This link is the paper 'Sun Community Source License Principles' which does
a fair job at explaining the motivation behind the license:
http://www.sun.com/981208/scsl/principles.html
It would behoove one to familiarize oneself with this before ranting on
about everything Sun is doing wrong -- there is a lot they're doing right,
too.
Sun is very concerned with the potential 'splintering' of Java
standarization efforts. The idea is that if many offshoots of Java are
propagated, this seriously weakens the overall adaptation of Java technology
and would become a weak spot in Sun's desire to make Java a universal
standard -- thereby allowing stronger market forces (such as Microsoft) to
essentially destroy Java once and for all. I think we can all agree that
this would be a Bad Thing.
So, there is a clear tension between the desire to make Java truly Open
Source and the desire to prevent it from fragmenting to the point where its
market penetration is weakened. Clearly, as supporters of Java, we should be
supportive of both goals. Otherwise it will be all too easy for someone else
to come along with a "Java killer" which ends up dominating the market in
its place.
So, give Sun a little slack. They are making an honest effort to do the
right thing. It is far more constructive to work within the framework which
they are trying to build, and to provide useful feedback on that framework,
than simply "jumping ship" on Sun altogether. That approach can't do anything
good for Java in the long run.
mdw
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