Oracle asks the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) to reconsider its position on leaving the Java Community Process (JCP) and supporting Java 7.
Despite the Apache Software Foundation's threat to leave the Java
Community Process (JCP) if it does not receive a test kit from Oracle,
Oracle has issued a statement indicating its intent to move Java
forward apparently with or without Apache.
In a statement issued Nov. 15 statement, Don Deutsch, vice president
of standards and architecture, at Oracle, said right now the "priority"
for Oracle is to "move Java forward."
Moreover, Deutsch said the "recently released statement
by the ASF Board with regard to their participation in the JCP calling
for EC [executive committee] members to vote against SE7 [Java
Platform, Standard Edition 7] is a call for continued delay and
stagnation of the past several years."
Deutsch's statement, which came in a post by Henrik Stahl, Oracle's
manager of Java platforms, also said, "We would encourage Apache to
reconsider their position and work together with Oracle and the
community at large to collectively move Java forward. Oracle
provides TCK [Test Compatibility Kit] licenses under fair, reasonable,
and non-discriminatory terms consistent with its obligations under the
JSPA [Java Specification Participation Agreement]."
Oracle is essentially asking ASF to reconsider its position
regarding quitting the JCP and encouraging others to vote against Java
7, but does not clearly address the issue of granting Apache the TCK
for its Harmony open-source implementation of Java. There is no mention
of a quid pro quo or anything - just the mention of "fair, reasonable
and non-discriminatory terms." Yet, ASF maintains that Oracle is simply
trying to restrict Harmony from being distributed under an open source
license.
Meanwhile, in his response, Deutsch also said, "Oracle believes that
with EC approval to initiate the SE7 and SE8 JSRs [Java Specification
requests], the Java community can get on with the important work of
driving forward Java SE and other standards in open, transparent,
consensus-driven expert groups."
Darryl K. Taft covers the development tools and developer-related issues beat from his office in Baltimore. He has more than 10 years of experience in the business and is always looking for the next scoop. Taft is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and was named 'one of the most active middleware reporters in the world' by The Middleware Co. He also has his own card in the 'Who's Who in Enterprise Java' deck.
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