Sun shines on Java open source

SUN PLANS to publish the first open source Java by the end of this year, the company has revealed. Sun had previously announced that they would embrace open source, and release Java under an open source license, at the JavaOne conference in May.

VP of Developer Programmes and Products at Sun, Laurie Tolson, said that the first components to be released under Sun's open source initiative will be the Java compiler (javac) and Sun's Hotspot JVM (Java Virtual Machine), which should appear later this year. The remainder of Sun's Java-orientated code will be open sourced by the end of 2007.

Mark Reinhold, chief engineer for the Java Standard Edition, confirmed his boss's statements on his blog here, but also stated that other components were on the table including the JDK, not just javac and the Hotspot JVM, and even these elements were not completely confirmed for release just yet.

Both Tolson and Reinhold also stated that Sun is still considering the licence under which it will release its Java technology, and has launched a specific section on its Java community site, Open Sourcing the JDK, specifically geared towards the gathering of feedback from developers. µ

See Also
Grind up Enterprise Java
Death knell for J5EE sounded too early
Java Enterprise may be stone dead soon

Sun will open source Java "in months"