Re: The ASF Resigns From the JCP Executive Committee

It's already been going on for years, Jim. This is not new news. The new news is that Apache finally decided to take its bat and ball and go home. As to the idea of starting a new project, you need to read the fine print. The only thing this suit is about is that Oracle says you can't say you're Java copmatible if you intend to embed your version of the SE 7 JVM into an appliance.

License fees are a completely different issue. If Oracle tries to retroactively force license fees on all the old code, then they would start a patent nightmare, which frankly we need anyway. There's simply no way that Oracle can say they own the IP for the entire Java platform, especially since so much has been contributed by the open community.

I for one would LOVE to see this litigation because my bet is it gets thrown out and the courts rule that compatible JVMs at least as of SE 6 can go their merry way. If I'm Oracle that's a huge gamble.

Joe

Or RPG!! Agreed!!

However the question will be, how much does it cost to keep using Java
if, and only if, Oracle gets crazy and starts asking for licensing
fees. As Joe pointed out, lots of smoke, but like with all fires that
are very smoky, once the ventilation starts and fresh air gets to the
source of the heat, the fire pops up with a vengeance. FUD yes, but a
topic to keep an eye on. If I were a software vendor getting ready to
start a new project, I would think twice about Java at this point.
It'll be several years before this gets decided.

Jim Oberholtzer
CEO/Chief Technical Architect
Agile Technology Architects, LLC


On 12/9/2010 5:01 PM, Dean, Robert wrote:

At this point, with the ginormous mountain of Java code out there, replacing Java would be about as difficult as replacing COBOL.