Open Source Java

[asian1]

Sun Microsystem plan to release the source code of Java in the next 60 days.
If this source code can be ported to AmigaOS 3.X, 4.X, AROS and MorphOS, is it possible to create multi platform application on the above OS?
Will this enable many new applications to run on the above OS?

From Cnet:

"Sun Microsystems is likely to use the Community Development and Distribution License to govern the forthcoming open source Java software project, chief executive Jonathan Schwartz said on Wednesday. "We're within 30 to 60 days of announcing the open sourcing of the core Java platform, using an OSI-approved licence — likely the same licence as we use for the Solaris operating system," Schwartz said during an Oracle OpenWorld speech in San Francisco."

[SamuraiCrow]

The trouble is in the porting.  Sun's code will likely only work on Linux.  Amiga has a few virtual machines that will work but the Swing, AWT, and similar such GUI classes haven't been ported yet.

[_yak_]

Please note that they said "We're within 30 to 60 days of announcing the open sourcing of the core Java platform" which means that in two months it will be officialy announced that Java goes open-source, not that the source will be available at that time. Moreover, so far they are open-sourcing only the core.

[SamuraiCrow]

AARGH!  Without the classes Java is worthless!  We already have versions of the core.  We need the classes.  Maybe somebody should look into GNU ClassPath.

[Tomas]

Is the solaris license even compitable with the linux license?

[Karlos]

SamuraiCrow wrote:
AARGH!  Without the classes Java is worthless!  We already have versions of the core.  We need the classes.  Maybe somebody should look into GNU ClassPath.

Even if we had them, without a decent JIT VM, any large scale java apps would crawl.

[smithy]

SamuraiCrow wrote:
AARGH!  Without the classes Java is worthless!  We already have versions of the core.  We need the classes.  Maybe somebody should look into GNU ClassPath.

I think it's safe to assume that the classes will be open sourced too (what would be the point otherwise?).  The source code for the classes is already supplied with the Java 2 SDK anyway and has been for years.

[Piru]

@Tomas

Is the solaris license even compitable with the linux license?

GPL does not require that applications running on top of GPL operating system are GPL aswell. Read the license.

[SamuraiCrow]

@Karlos

Actually, GCJ can compile Java directly to machine language so the code can theoretically outperform a JIT.  However, the GNU ClassPath isn't as well optimized as Sun's classes.

[smithy]

Karlos wrote:
Even if we had them, without a decent JIT VM, any large scale java apps would crawl.

The whole point is to open source Sun's JIT JVM! :-)

edit:
And I'd guess the developer tools would be open-sourced too.  All of the substance of the dev tools are written in Java and are part of the core class library, so no porting required.  The binaries in the SDK/JRE's bin folder are just stubs that don't do much beyond calling the corresponding stuff in the (private) API.

[SamuraiCrow]

@smithy

There is a licence fee that must be paid for distribution of the Java Classes.  That's why AmigaDE didn't ship with them by default but, instead, required you to download them from Sun's site.

[Karlos]

smithy wrote:

Karlos wrote:
Even if we had them, without a decent JIT VM, any large scale java apps would crawl.

The whole point is to open source Sun's JIT JVM! :-)

Sure, and no doubt it's fantastic if you are only interested in emitting x86 code from the JIT ;-)

[smithy]

SamuraiCrow wrote:
The trouble is in the porting.  Sun's code will likely only work on Linux.  Amiga has a few virtual machines that will work but the Swing, AWT, and similar such GUI classes haven't been ported yet.

Swing is written entirely in Java, so again, no porting needed here.

AWT is written partially in Java.  How much I don't know for sure.  How much of the native stuff can be ported, as opposed to being re-implemented is the key question.  You'd hope their SAL just does dumb stuff like open windows, rather than implement any of Java's horribly complicated GUI layouters.

[smithy]

SamuraiCrow wrote:
@smithy

There is a licence fee that must be paid for distribution of the Java Classes.  That's why AmigaDE didn't ship with them by default but, instead, required you to download them from Sun's site.

Ahhhh.. I didn't know that... but hopefully this will be covered in the open source terms - otherwise it won't really be open source!

[smithy]

Karlos wrote:
Sure, and no doubt it's fantastic if you are only interested in emitting x86 code from the JIT ;-)

Doh!  That completely passed my by!  (but the most important Amiga variety does have a x86 version)

Er, another reason for a port to.... no, I won't go there ;-)