Re: The ASF Resigns From the JCP Executive Committee

[Joe Pluta <joepluta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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.