Mark Fleury, whose organization ships the eponymous open source Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) application server, spoke-out against releasing Java code saying Sun’s control of Java, with certification, had helped Java’s success.
IBM in February wrote an open letter to Sun offering a joint project to make Java an open source project, following an earlier open letter on the subject by activist Eric Raymond.
Reasons given by IBM for open sourcing Java have not been made entirely clear, although, in its letter, IBM said opening Java would help accelerate adoption of technologies built using Java and expand the developer community.
Feedback from unnamed Java community members, though, indicates a belief IBM is playing politics. JCP members told ComputerWire they believe open sourcing of Java is a step by IBM to take control of Java away from Sun. IBM could, for example, staff projects with its IBMers and potentially out-fund today’s level of backing from Sun.
Speaking at a Sun-organized community event in San Francisco, California, yesterday, to demonstrate community support and to evangelize J2EE 1.4, WebSphere program director Mark Heid said IBM is in preliminary discussions with Sun to figure out how to open source Java.
Fleury, whose own organization last year clashed with Sun for not certifying its own open source J2EE application server using Sun’s tests, called IBM’s offer a trap. He said Sun’s stewardship of Java has helped maintain platform portability and prevent code forks, making Java what it is today.
I don’t see any gain in open source Java for the community, Fleury said. Asked to explain JBoss’s Saul-like conversion to certification and support for Sun, Fleury said: The standard is the most important thing for the existence of this market [against Microsoft].
JBoss and IBM were on stage at the same J2EE 1.4 press event in San Francisco, accompanied by representatives of application server suppliers BEA Systems, Oracle, Pramati Technologies and Trifork. J2EE 1.4 products are expected from BEA this fall, Parmati during the third quarter and Trifork at JavaOne in June. IBM, Oracle and Sun have already launched products.
Sun claims 28 compatible J2EE 1.4 products in the market today, having passed a battery of more than 50,000 certification tests for Java and web services interoperability.
The J2EE application server market, though, is regarded as over populated, and overdue for a shakeout. BEA vice president of engineering Mike McHugh said companies would differentiate themselves by adding server features for deployment, scale-up, clustering, utility computing and mainframe interfaces that go beyond the basic J2EE platforms programming interfaces.
This article is based on material originally published by ComputerWire
