The Sun Open-source Roadmap
Based on the August 14th announcement at LinuxWorld in San Francisco by Rich Green, Laurie Tolson, and Alan Brenner from Sun Microsystems, we know the following:
- Sun will release all of Java Mobile Edition (Java ME) by the end of 2006. This includes both the Connected/Limited Device Configuration (CLDC) and Connected Device Configuration (CDC).
- Sun will release a many significant components of Java SE by the end of 2006. Although the precise set of components has not been decided upon, the javac bytecode compiler and the HotSpot VM will most likely be included.
- The rest of the Java development kit (JDK) will be released in early 2007, although not all of the code will be available under an open-source license. The complication comes from some third-party code that Sun ships with the JDK. Since Sun may not get permission to release these components as open source, they may need to be packaged and shipped separately.
Sun seems to be trying to consider the impact to developers, corporations, and Java itself, as they sort out the open source details. Therefore, as a developer, be sure to voice your opinion. Sun has created a new site to keep you informed, and let you provide feedback.
Jean Elliott, director of developer marketing at Sun, recently had this to say:
Most importantly, we're not doing this in isolation. We want to learn from successful open-source projects how best to go about this and we want to include the Java developer community in the process. Without involving the developer community, Java won't reap the benefits of the open source development model.
