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Apache Declares War On Oracle Over Java

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the pew-pew-pew dept.

jfruhlinger writes "The Apache Software Foundation, feeling increasingly marginalized as Oracle asserts its control over the Java platform, is fighting back, trying to rally fellow members of the Java Community Process to block the next version of the language if Oracle doesn't make it available under an open license amenable to Apache. Last month's Oracle-IBM pact was a blow against the ASF, which had worked with IBM in the past, but it appears that Apache isn't giving up the fight."

6 of 428 comments (clear)

  1. Java is the new COBOL by vlm · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Java is the new COBOL.

    During the declining years of cobol, I/we watched the participants fighting to increase their portion of the pie, regardless of how much it shrunk the pie.

    --
    "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
    1. Re:Java is the new COBOL by hsoftdev17 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      If Java is the new COBOL, I highly recommend not telling the millions of Android developers out there, or Google for that matter. I am inclined to agree that the language formerly known as "Java" (Sun's version) may be on its way out. However, the existence of alternate compilers, alternate VMs, and extensions to the language not officially sanctioned by Sun (or Oracle) seem to indicate that Java isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

  2. Re:It's a trap by Enderandrew · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The are a couple problems with this theory.

    The EU demanded that Microsoft open several of their standards and protocols, or else. The EU can stop the sale of Microsoft products in the EU and levy more fines.

    And Microsoft has made an open patent pledge.

    http://www.microsoft.com/interop/principles/osspatentpledge.mspx

    If they go back on that pledge and tell the EU they refuse to cooperate with their demands on interoperability, then the EU hammer drops again.

    Microsoft isn't going to do that. It makes zero sense.

    --
    http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
  3. Re:Unsurprising by Old97 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Huh? Oracle has been evil for most of its 30 year existence. If you've ever done business with them you'd have experienced it first hand. They'd have been worse than Microsoft if given the chance.

    --
    Very often, people confuse simple with simplistic. The nuance is lost on most. - Clement Mok
  4. Re:Unsurprising by sinclair44 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I think/hope that they are going to absolutely shoot themselves in the foot with this. Much of their top talent has left in droves since the Sun acquisition. They sent a recruiting email to myself and some of my friends -- some of the top students at the top CS school in the country -- asking if we were interested in coming to work on the Solaris kernel full-time; they were pretty much collectively told, "After what you did to Sun? No way." If their talented engineers are by-and-large leaving and they are by-and-large unable to hire more, they will quickly become a dying shell of a mediocre company.

    --
    Omnes stulti sunt.
  5. Re:Unsurprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Right a bunch of students with no work experience unilaterally turn down guaranteed full time positions with a established company in this economy.