On May 6, 2005, at 10:26 PM, Simon Kitching wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Can someone clarify for me why Harmony is being proposed when GNU
> Classpath, Kaffe and other projects are quite a long way to satisfying
> the goal of a Free Java environment?
>
> Is it:
>
> * That SUN is not expected to ever grant a free license to run the TCK
> for a GPL-licensed project, so the only way to get a "certified" free
> Java implementation is to ignore the existing GPL'd stuff and start
> again from scratch?
No. I fully expect Sun to grant the TCK to a GPL-licensed project
when the time is right - I don't think that there are any limitations
around the license under which an OSS project chooses to work.
Certainly that isn't what Apache was striving for in it's JCP efforts
(when Jason Hunter was JCP rep) when the JSPA was changed to allow
OSS impls, and it's not a limitation we'd support now.
>
> * That you feel that more contributors will be involved in an
> Apache-licensed project than in a GPL-licensed project, resulting in a
> better overall end result? If so, why?
It remains to be seen. Clearly people have license preferences.
It's clear that there are contributors that only wish to contribute
to GPL-licensed projects. Similarly, there are contributors that only
wish to contribute to BSD or other no-copyleft or weak-copyleft
licenses.
What we're trying to do is two things - do an implementation under
the Apache License (that's how we license things at the ASF...) but
at the same time, collaborate with any other interested people,
communities and organizations so that we can share and interchange as
much as we can. And when we fix the license incompatibility issues,
we'll be able to share more.
>
> * That you feel that the availability of an Apache-licensed project is
> important enough to duplicate all the existing GPL'd effort? If so,
> why?
> Who in particular wants an Apache-licensed implementation and can't
> accept a GPL'd one?
What if you wanted to extend it in a proprietary way? Suppose you
had a killer GC implementation that you wanted to try to build a
business around (ok, farfetched, but you grok the intent...)? or
wanted to tune it for your hardware w/o giving what could be
proprietary techniques away?
I don't want to debate GPL vs AL vs CDDL vs MPL vs ... here.
The fact is, we have a big community around us that has an interest,
and the ASF is willing (if the PMC approves) to give us a shot to try.
>
> * That Kaffe/Classpath are somehow flawed and that it is necessary to
> start again?
No. Kaffe and GNU Classpath people will be participating and
observing. This is an open project, and people from Kaffe and GNU
Classpath have been invited and helped get the conversation started.
Lets bridge these communities in whatever way we can. We can't do it
w/ licenses (although we're working on it) so we'll do it w/
technology and design.
>
> * That because Apache is a well-respected player in the Java community
> that a project hosted at Apache will be so much better accepted
> that it
> is worth discarding all the Kaffe/Classpath work done so far?
No, I don't think that's anyone motivation. We aren't thinking about
this as anti-Kaffe or anti-GNU Classpath, but rather pro Java, pro
independent implementation, and pro community. We've been building
relationships and friendships with the people in those communities
and I'd like to keep working with them, not alienate them.
geir
>
> Regards,
>
> Simon
>
>
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--
Geir Magnusson Jr +1-203-665-6437
geirm@apache.org
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