JFORK: Or a reasonable response to the Sun SCSL
Hi,
Ever since the SCSL was announced some of the same concepts have
occupied my mind that have been recieving discussion on this list.
Specifically, given the fact that the Sun SCSL is not compatible in any
real sense with the tenets of the DFSG, what does the future hold for
free software implementations of Java? Sun has done such an excellent job
distracting everyone from the negative aspects of the SCSL that many
people are heralding it as "the best thing that has happened to Open
Source in a long time". The truth is that the SCSL represents perhaps
the greatest current threat to the concept of free software.
So, what can we do about it? I have been giving the subject some small
amount of thought and have been having conversations with Tim
Wilkinson (Kaffe) for almost a year now. My opinion is that the only
reasonable response is a large scale, highly organized, optimally
minimalized fork against the Sun version of Java. This is a path that
is fraught with public relations peril and is almost inconceivably
difficult as a technical challenge. That said, I think that it is not
impossible and that the SPI infrastructure represents an excellent
launch pad for such an effort.
Let me clarify some of those thoughts:
LARGE SCALE
By stating that the forking effort must be large scale I mean that we
must have a considerable amount of momentum for Sun to take the threat
seriously. This includes support from all of the free efforts (Kaffe,
Japhar, GJC, etc.) as well as support from some commercial vendors.
There are some companies which are obviously eager to jump into the
fray, not the least of them being *gulp* Microsoft.
HIGHLY ORGANIZED
For such a forking effort to make sense it must make progress and it
must be motivated by technical excellence as much as politics. Sun
will be far more deeply frightened if a fork arrises which represents
a technically superior solution that is additionally not impeded by
their politically nasty license.
OPTIMALLY MINIMALIZED
The other obvious imperitave of a fork is that it must maintain the
chief element that has made Java popular, portability. Interoperation
with the existing VMs must be made as universal as possible, both
through compliance with Sun standards where possible and through the
availablility of either pure Java or highly portable implementations
of any system extensions.
It is now clear to me that Sun is engaging in one of the most
effective attempts to hijack the tenets of the free software movement
to date. Their purchase of Star Office will drive acceptance of their
license among the less aware and expose many thousands of programmers
to complex legal liabilities. We must strike back against this effort.
NEAR TERM STRATEGY
I have already begun a few simple efforts to get this process rolling.
I have had a few brief discussions with SPI board members about
hosting the JFORK effort through SPI. The attitude is receptive but
there are still administrative hurdles limiting SPI's reactivity. I
have also reserved the domain names JFORK.COM, JFORK.NET and JFORK.ORG
as a potential home for distributing information about this effort. I
am willing to turn these domains over to SPI when the effort is
formally accepted.
I think that our best weapon in this effort will be the presence of
free software "killer applications". Not only having a significant
free software "Java" infrastructure, but having applications and
success stories that demonstrate the effectiveness of the alternative
system. There are numerous systems currently under development that
represent this sort of thing, but not all of them are DFSG "pure".
We have constructed a system we are calling "Webslinger" which is
similar to packages such as Enhydra but has some significant features
beyond those systems. We have used this system to build solutions for
a number of Fortune 500 corporations, including the Kaufman and Broad
home corporation (the largest new home builder) and TGIFriday's (a
well know restaurant chain). We have taken great pains to insure that
these systems are able to run without any proprietary support classes
whatsoever. These are the kinds of applications and success stories
that can be used to demonstrate that there is a place for Java, even
without Sun.
So, that concludes my thoughts. Obviously I am repeating some of the
concepts that have already been discussed. Perhaps we can solidify
them a bit and make a move to a more complete picture of a free java.
E
--
_______________________________________________________________________
Ean Schuessler Director of New Products and Technologies
Novare International Inc. The Unstoppable Fist of Digital Action
*** WARNING: This signature may contain jokes.
Reply to: