Testing Mono's compatibility

[Jeff Garland]

Joshua Zeidner wrote:
> On 9/14/06, Jeff Garland <jeff at crystalclearsoftware.com> wrote:
> 
>    I am familiar with the two sides of this debate... but I never
> really considered it worthwhile to familiarize myself with the legal
> codes of the JCP.  Exactly what rights does Sun reserve over the JCP?
> How is it possible for them to exert control over Java?

I haven't read the JCP either.  I *have* heard from a couple people involved 
in it a huge frustration with Sun at some point in the past...the comment 
being that Sun held a veto over everyone else and that stopped discussion of 
certain directions they thought were valuable. But this is second hand rumor 
that may now be obsolete.  That said, I'm certain that somehow Sun still 
claims Java as a business asset.  What can they practically do with this 
*ownership*?  I don't know.  What would happen if another company bought them? 
  I don't know.  15 years ago if you asked me I would have said there's little 
or no chance the VAX platform could go away....but it did.  Maybe this is all 
just FUD.  Of course with fully open and standard technologies no such FUD can 
exist because no corporation can claim ownership.

>   I do consider most of Joseph Sinclair's points to be true.  Sun has
> certainly been the most progressive company in their approach to OSS(
> mainly due to necessity ).  For those who are not involved with Java,
> JCP is like the *Java Parliament*.

I don't think Sun has been 'progressive'.  They've tried to catch the wave 
lately because their options are limited -- they need to make their platform 
more attractive somehow.  Get developers interested.  I doubt it will work.

>  Getting back to the original topic, Microsoft/.NET has nothing that
> even resembles JCP.  In comparing .NET and Java for the PLUG audience,
> Java is clearly more OSS friendly.  I find Microsoft's dealings with
> ECMA to be suspect, possibly an attempt to make .NET OSS in name.  The
> only way I would accept a Microsoft product as OSS would be in their
> adoption of the GPL.

What MS has done is different.  JCP might be better overall than having an 
ECMA standard -- I don't know.  Both result in some sort of written standard 
that can be implemented. But, in the end, neither of these technologies is as 
open or unencumbered as the other technologies discussed in this thread.

And just to be clear, I don't have any problem with Sun or MS -- they can do 
whatever they want.  If people want to use their platforms or code, that's 
perfectly fine.  I've written plenty of code in Java myself.  I just prefer to 
write portable code using open standards and steer away from these 
technologies when I have the option to.

Jeff