Sun's worried that Google Android could fracture Java
Update: I added comment from Google.
Painful flashbacks are beginning to torment those of us who lived through the Java wars between Sun Microsystems and Microsoft that began 10 years ago.
Earlier this week, Google released programming tools for its Android mobile-phone software project that shun the existing Java standard-setting process in favor of a Google-specific variety. Sun responded on Wednesday by expressing concern that Google's Android project could fragment Java into incompatible versions.
"Anything that creates a more diverse or fractured platform is not in (developers') best interests," said Rich Green, executive vice president of Sun's software work, speaking to reporters at the Oracle OpenWorld conference in San Francisco. "The feedback from developers is, 'Help us fix this.'"
He said Sun wants to work with Google to nip any problems in the bud. "We're really interested in working with Google to make sure developers don't end up with a fractured environment. We're reaching out to Google and assuming they'll be reaching out to us to ensure these platforms and APIs will be compatible so deployment on a wide variety of platforms will be possible," Green said.
Google unrepentant
Google didn't adopt a terribly conciliatory tone in its response, arguing that when it comes to Java fragmentation, Android is the solution, not the problem.
"Google and the other members of the Open Handset Alliance are working to help solve fragmentation and supporting the developer community by creating Android, a mobile platform that responds to the needs of the developers, has the backing of industry leaders, and will be available as open source under a nonrestrictive license," Google said in a statement.
And asked whether it would discuss the issue with Sun, Google said, "We're talking with industry leaders around the world about Android and the Open Handset Alliance but we're not commenting on any of those discussions."
On Monday, Google indicated that it expects fellow members of the Open Handset Alliance phones who are working on the Android phones to help keep its variation of Java familiar to programmers.
Java today is governed by the Java Community Process, in which a number of companies vote on which features to accept into the Java system and create standard mechanisms called application programming interfaces (APIs) by which Java software can use those features. The extent to which Android will or must conform to these APIs is not clear.
For those who need a refresher on the Microsoft history here, the software company licensed Java back in the 1990s, way before it became open-source software. However, Microsoft added some features to Java that meant that it could work differently on Windows machines, a move Sun saw as undermining the "write once, run anywhere" promise of the technology.
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According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_Harmony, Sun hasn't been willing to do so at this point.
Why does there have to be a million different linux flavors? Why are
there so many programming languages? Why can't people just work
together to make something superior? I don't think Google should
make their own Java or buy Sun. Why not just work in harmony to
create an experience that we all should have? Make something that
just works and is "pretty".
It's funny to see Sun complaining now about different versions of Java because I don't remember any comments out of Sun when RIM did the exact same thing with the Blackberry Java APIs, Danger did the same thing with the Hiptop/Sidekick Java APIs, Nokia did the same with their extra Java APIs, etc, etc, I hope you can see the pattern here, too late to say "sorry no more extensions".
The kick in the teeth to Sun is that Android provides a better mobile version of full Java than Sun's own JavaFX Mobile (which Sun acquired from the corpses of Savaje). I've been with Java from the beginning and I do major Java ME work but I say to Google "fantastic work !!! please continue full steam ahead, we developers can now create great mobile Java apps with iPhone-like quality. Thank you". JCP has failed to innovate, I hope Android becomes the "de facto" Mobile Java standard driven by Google.
Rich's earlier leadership completely broke the write once run
anywhere vision by splitting off three separate code bases with
ME, SE and EE. Google and the Open Handset Alliance will help
bring it back together .. and I am sure it will be without Sun's
help. Besides, they are struggling with their own me too JavaFX
.. I mean SavaJe .. I mean 3 guys in a closet coding demoware
for JavaOne 2008. Why do they want to help any other mobile
handset provider out? They already got their money. Now, in
typical Sun fashion, they are going to compete with their
customers. And back to the "help fix this" line ... it is actually
what developers are asking of the community, not of Sun since
we all know that the new Software leadership team has a poor
history of delivering products on time and to spec.