Re: NetBeans ITP [was Re: CDDL]
Tom Marble <Tom.Marble <at> Sun.COM> writes:
> Until very, very recently this hasn't even been possible as
> we are fully aware that NetBeans has had various "non-free"
> dependencies (which would have blocked it's inclusion in "main").
> Thus the primary rationale for liberating javac and JavaHelp
> as part of the Java Open Source launch [2] was to free these
> key dependencies for NetBeans. Today NetBeans also depends
> on the Sun Java runtime. We have done some research with
> Free Java implementations to demonstrate functionality
> on a runtime currently in "main" and this work is ongoing.
We did some work for the upcoming 0.93 release of GNU Classpath trying to get
NetBeans running, but this is still some way in the future. There are some
parts/plugins which partially startup/run, but for getting the full IDE working
some serious effort will still be needed.
> And so the trajectory for NetBeans, therefore, is we would
> like to package all dependent parts which are recognized
> as DFSG compliant for "main" (CDDL, GPL packages) and
> prepare a NetBeans package under CDDL which depends (initially)
> on the "non-free" Sun Java runtime [3] such that upon the
> full liberation of Sun Java that NetBeans will become
> a candidate for "main".
>
> I know that CDDL has been discussed many, many times on
> d-l in the past. In light of Sun's commitment to Free Software
> and our desire to make this software available to Debian
> Developers and users it is apropos to work towards consensus
> on the DFSG status of CDDL. I welcome your comments
> and concerns.
One really nice thing of Sun's announcement was the fact that they streamlined
the licensing process of all of the Java editions. Not just jse (openjdk), but
also jme and jee. The FAQ even says:
Q: How does this announcement affect Java EE?
A: Sun's implementation of Java EE 5 has been available as open-source under the
CDDL license through the GlassFish Community since June of 2005. In order to
gain all of the benefits of the GPL v2 license and to be able to offer
implementations of the entire set of Java platforms under the same license, the
GlassFish application server source code will be made available under the GPL v2
license with Classpath exception in addition to the CDDL, By adding a second
license, we simplify the process of combining and distributing GlassFish code
with other GPL licensed communities. By offering all of Java under a common
license, developers can now more easily collaborate on and distribute updated
versions of Java SE, Java EE, and Java ME together.
A similar argument could be made for NetBeans.
While there is a discussion about the CDDL and whether it is acceptable
according to DFSG or needs modernizing please do start packaging the various
NetBeans dependencies. There is already a packaging effort on the way for the
GPLed javac. And since JavaHelp has now be released under GPL+exception it can
also immediately be packaged. While packaging eclipse a lot of work was needed
for extracting all the dependencies bundled upstream into separate packages for
easy reuse and making it possible to update the independent parts easily.
Starting early on that is a good idea, especially since the separate parts might
be beneficial on their own and as dependencies for other applications (like
Glashfish for example).
Cheers,
Mark
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