James Gosling unburdens himself on several issues involving Java in a wide-ranging interview with eWEEK's Darryl K. Taft, addressing among other topics Java vs. Google and What's the outlook for Java in the Oracle business plan.

In typically colorful language, Gosling characterizes the multiple players developing around Google's Android (which he feels is bound to result in equally numerous incompatibilities) "... doing whatever they damn well please. Which means that it's just going to be randomness. It could be let a thousand flowers bloom, but it also could be a dog's breakfast." Sun's licensing fees, Gosling asserted, at the very least ensure that there are organizations of people doing "...compatibility testing and actual negotiating amongst the different handset makers so that things like GPS APIs look the same."

Taft asked Gosling what he was currently most excited about in the way of things Java, and Gosling answered that the Java Store was a big item, citing the success of the LG TV set-top box that runs JavaFX so capably. The store, he said, is already managing deployments to desktops but he foresees the day when it will also manage deployments to cell phones and cable TV set-top boxes.

Gosling cited the work of the GlassFish, the OpenDS and the OpenJDK teams as sources of innovative work in Java, even though, ultimately, this may result in the demise of Java as we know it today because of the versatility of the Java virtual machine -- the integration hub -- that enables "all kinds of languages [to] get along together." According to Gosling, "The JVM is the piece that actually matters."

Turning to the issue of Java in the post-Oracle-Sun buyout era, Gosling conceded that there is a good deal of uncertainty about the future of Java. What he could say for sure is that he would prefer Oracle to IBM as a corporate master. Given the difference between the Sun and Oracle cultures, however, Gosling would not venture a guess as to what the corporate culture of the future would look like. Still, Gosling said he was "hopeful" about the future. As he put it, "Sun is now a viral body in a strange host."

Will Gosling be part of the new entity, Taft asked. Gosling said he could not predict that aspect of the future either. [...read more...]

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