Sun opens up Java 2 platform source

Manuka writes "An Inforworld article tells us that Sun, in an effort to make Java more accessible, has made the Java 2 source available under a new license. " The new license makes it possible for "developers to use and modify the source code for commercial products free of charge; allows them to change the code without having to return their changes to Sun; and lets developers modify and share source code without involving Sun." A step in the right direction.

Comments

how big a step?

[pohl]

I've read several people mention that one drawback of the new license is that it doesn't improve matters at all for the people doing the linux/jdk port at blackdown.org. Apparently, the new license scheme doesn't let them put their port up on an ftp server until it passes all of the compliance tests, meaning that we get none of the benefits of having a multitude of eyeballs to make the bugs shallow.

So, while it may seem like open-source on the surface, it seems like they've managed to make an almost-open-source license that has all of the hype and none of the benefit, at least for the freenix community, anyway.