|
Fedora 9 and Ubuntu 8.04 Including OpenJDK-based Implementations Linux Distribution Opens Up New Market for Java
Developers using Fedora 9 or Ubuntu 8.04 Long Term Support (LTS) and Desktop editions can now count on free software implementations based on Java technology as a standard element of an open source developer stack since the OpenJDK has been included into the latest releases of the two open source softwares. This move now opens the door for numerous Java technology-based offerings to be included in the core of these GNU/Linux distributions. "Open sourcing Java under GPL v2 has always been about bringing the power of Java technology to new markets, and enabling new innovations. With an OpenJDK-based implementation included in both Fedora and Ubuntu, developers can now rely on a stable, open source Java as an integral part of these GNU/Linux distributions," said Jeet Kaul, vice president of the Client Software Group at Sun. The Ubuntu 8.04 LTS also is including the NetBeans 6.0 Integrated Development Environment (IDE) as part of its release, and Canonical has certified Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Server Edition on several Sun x86 systems. The open sourcing process for OpenJDK began in November 2006, though several components -- constituting some four percent of the platform -- including some encryption libraries, graphics libraries, the sound engine, and some SNMP management code, could not be offered under the GNU General Public License. Sun has now been working to remove these encumbrances in order to make Java fully open source, InfoWorld's Paul Krill reported. "We've been engaging with the open-source community for Java to finish off the OpenJDK project, and the specific thing that we've been working on with them is clearing the last bits that we didn't have the rights [to distribute]," Rich Sands, group manager for developer marketing at Sun, told Krill. Sun's aim, Sands said, is to make Java is 100 percent open source. Removal of any encumbrances would relieve Linux distributors from the need to continue developing exclusively in such languages as C, C++, and PHP. "We're trying to get Java into places it's never been before," Sands said. Linux developers have long wanted Java on Linux, said analyst Michael Cote of RedMonk, though he admitted, "I don't really know to which magnitude." Mark Murphy, global alliances manager at Canonical LTD, commented, "We look forward to Java technology helping to expand the growing ecosystem of Ubuntu-based applications that serve businesses of all sizes." Also making a statement with Sun's announcement was Sacha Labourey, CTO of Middleware, Red Hat, who said, "Having an OpenJDK implementation as part of Fedora 9 is a major milestone. It is great news for Red Hat's customers, who can look forward to a superior Java technology implementation on which to deploy their mission-critical applications." Krill also noted that, in parallel with its efforts to completely open source Java, Sun also has sought to make its Solaris Operating System (Solaris OS) more palatable to Linux users through Project Indiana, which is intended to provide binaries for the OpenSolaris open source implementation of Solaris, similar to how Linux is packaged.
To learn more about the open sourcing of Java, listen to a Java Posse interview with Sands, Barton George and Bruno Souza, who discuss the ongoing clearing of encumbrances to a full GPL release, Iced Tea, Ubuntu's inclusion of OpenJDK, the merits of the GPLv2 license, other JDK licenses, OpenJDK's status on the Mac, packaging Java for Linux distros, the role of the OpenJDK community, how OpenJDK may provide JDK 6 Update 10 functionality, OpenJDK's reliability and more.
[...read more...]
From the latest issue:
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Print Friendly
Email this article
developers can now rely on a stable, open source Java as an integral part of these GNU/Linux distributions. 
Fedora 9 and Ubuntu 8.04 Including OpenJDK-based Implementations
Copyright © 1998-2009 System News, Inc.
