Dust, Iron, and GPL v2

From devices (dust), to mainframes (big iron), Java now belongs to the community under the GPL v2.

Sun has announced that Java SE, ME, and EE are now officially released as open-source projects under the GPL v2 license.

“Everyone has been expecting that one day Sun would open source Java technology, but no one expected just how far they'd go – GPL. A bold move, and a great opportunity both for Sun and for free and open source software, “said Tim O'Reilly, founder and CEO of O'Reilly Media.

Here are the details:

Java SE: GPLv2

Sun is releasing three pieces of Java SE: The Java HotSpot™ VM, the Java compiler (javac), and the JavaHelp™ system. You can find the Java SE code at openjdk.dev.java.net. There will be both a NetBeans project (for the Java portions of the Java SE code) and a SunStudio project (for the C++ portions of the Java SE code, such as the JVM) available on java.net to help developers explore the code-base. Developers can download the source code, open it in the NetBeans IDE, and use the Build Project command to build it. For further information and a step-bystep tutorial go to: http://nb-openjdk.netbeans.org. Sun expects to release a build-able JDK in the first quarter of 2007.

Java ME: GPLv2

Available immediately in the Java.net community, is the source code for Sun's feature phone Java ME implementation, the next generation version of the platform that currently enables rich mobile data services in over 1.5 billion handsets. Also available is Sun's source code for the Java ME testing and compatibility kit framework, the foundation for Sun's Java ME compatibility tests. Later this year, Sun will release additional source code including its advanced operation system phone implementation and the framework for the Java Device Test Suite. The advanced OS phone implementation is a CDC-based package that should be available before spring 2007.

As with Java SE, a NetBeans Mobility Pack project will be made available on java.net so that developers can explore the Java ME code-base.

Java EE: GPLv2 or CDDL (You Choose)

Java EE, which was already available under the CDDL, is now also available under GPLv2. Simply choose the license model you would like to adhere to when you download Project Glassfish, Sun’s open-source Java EE implementation. You can find the Java EE code at glassfish.dev.java.net.

“By open sourcing Sun's implementation of Java technology, we will inspire a new phase of developer collaboration and innovation using the NetBeans Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and expect theJava platform to be the foundation infrastructure for next generation Internet, desktop, mobile and enterprise applications,” said Rich Green, executive vice president of Software at Sun. “With the Java development Kit (JDK) released as free software under the GPL, Sun will be working closely with distributors of the GNU/Linux operating system, who will soon be able to include the JDK as part of the open source repositories that are commonly included with GNU/Linux distributions.”

Be sure to check the following for more information:

-The Sun Java open-source site
-The official launch video/audio webcast at 9:30am PT

-EJB

Posted by Eric Bruno at 12:08 AM  Permalink