What about JSR-310?

So, if the Java Community Process is now a zombie Java Corporate Partnership, what should I do with JSR-310?

JSR-310

I've been highly critical of Oracle's stewardship of Java, particularly on the topic of the JCP. Choosing to U-turn on their previous public statements and force through the Java SE 7 and 8 JSRs was bad for Java and bad for Oracle. By accepting Oracle's actions, the remaining JCP executive committee members ended the notion of the JCP as an open standards body.

So, the question arises as to whether I should cut my ties with the JCP and terminate JSR-310.

The reasons to abandon the JSR are quite compelling:

• The JCP is no longer an open standards body.
• JSRs now exist that are in incompatible with the JSPA legal agreement.
• The Executive Committee has shown itself to be more willing to do Oracle's bidding than to hold them to account.

However, I must also ask what the result would be if I stopped the JSR:

• I would break a commitment I made to the community to improve dates and times in Jave SE.
• Someone else might take over the project, perhaps causing another poor Java SE date and time library.
• The majority of developers, those that don't read blogs and news sites, don't care about the corporate politics and would suffer without ever knowing why.

Ever been between a rock and a hard place?

The upside is that the process of the JCP provides all the power to the specification lead. So, since I, and Michael Nascimento, are the specification leads for JSR-310, we have all the power :-) Consider what I said when the JCP asked me about transparency:

Anyone can access these javadoc files by just clicking a link on the JSR 310 website at java.net. Stephen says, "We always intended to run the JSR as an open source project. That naturally means public code, and feedback. Collecting the feedback is easier if people can access it by the method they are most familiar with -- javadoc." Some Spec Leads may be reluctant to run their projects as openly as this, but Stephen has no qualms at all. He says, "It's often thought that being open will increase the mails and issues you have to deal with. The reality is that you tend to have to address the real issues earlier than you might otherwise have to, and that is a very good thing."

The key phrase is "run the JSR as an open source project". Because if the JSR is an open source project then the status of the JCP is more of a detail, an annoyance.

So, while my heart might tell me to walk away from the zombie JCP, my head tells me that I really don't need to. This is just an open source project which the community badly needs. And the JCP is just a tool I can use to access Java SE 8. I dislike maven as a tool, yet I still use it - I can dislike the JCP and still use it in exactly the same way.

Therefore, I've decided to continue work on JSR-310, targetting Java SE 8.

I've also taken advantage of the impending destruction of the original java.net website to move the code and discussion to sourceforge, where I hold most of my other projects.

I've also chosen to give the reference implementation a real name - ThreeTen. So, the ThreeTen project is the reference implementation of JSR-310. Development of both the reference implementation and the JSR will occur at the ThreeTen project.

• ThreeTen home page
• ThreeTen project page
• Develop mailing list

As part of this process I've attempted to clarify the legal position of contributions to the project, including discussion, without getting too legal. The concept is that the overriding principle is that the project works on trust and respect for the public good. Beyond that, version controlled contributions continue to use the BSD 3-clause license, and version controlled contributions destined for JSR-310 continue to require a contributor agreement. As such, existing mailing list subscribers need to resubscribe to the new mailing list.

I also leave open the option of writing a ThreeTen specification separate to the JSR-310 specification.

The aim of a ThreeTen specification would be to provide common terminology and behaviour at a higher level with the intention of sharing the knowledge gained to other areas of computing. This might be another language, library or specification, such as SQL or XML.

Finally, I'm pleased to confirm that I will continue to spend 20% of my work hours on ThreeTen/JSR-310 thanks to my employer OpenGamma where the project is a core part of their platform for financial analytics and risk management.

Stephen Colebourne
Project lead, ThreeTen
Co-spec lead, JSR-310

The Deal

This is the story of a deal. Not one that was ever signed on a piece of paper. But one that was still very important. Its the deal between the owner of Java and the Community.

The Deal

This is my view about how the owner of Java and the Community have interacted:

The owner of Java makes a large investment.
The community makes it relevant.

By "owner of Java", I mean Sun, then Oracle.
By large investment, I mean money, development time, marketing and energy.
By relevant, I mean interesting and productive for mass use.

The key point is that this is a symbiotic relationship. The investment by the owner is worth much, much less if the language is not relevant. And the community needs an actively developed core and common set of rules to build upon.

When you consider the limited nature of the core of Java, this should be self evident. The core consists of the JVM, compiler, language and core libraries. Enough to get everyone started, but not that interesting in and of itself.

What is interesting about "Java" is everything else:

Servlets, JMS, Tomcat, JBoss, Lucene, JMX, Eclipse, Ant, Portlets, Lombok, Devoxx, Javalobby, Axis, JIRA, RESTEasy, Terracotta, Ivy, JSP, TestNG, Grails, Mule, Android, ICU4J, MyFaces, Scala, James, Geronimo, JCS, OFBiz, Jetty, GWT, Websphere, JFreeChart, JavaMail, FastUtil, Xerces, JDBC, Griffon, JProbe, SLF4J, Wicket, XOM, JavaOne, Seam, Emma, HttpClient, EHCache, TheServerSide, Roo, Mockito, HSQL, Guice, FOP, Kindle, Velocity, Clojure, JNDI, Clover, Hadoop, JSF, Jackrabbit, Livescribe pen, Commons, Hibernate, EJB, Tobago, IntelliJ, Jersey, Scalaz, HornetQ, JAX-RS, Lift, Derby, JUnit, Freemarker, JavaME, Mylyn, Gaelyk, MINA, Play, JBPM, Cobertura, Antlr, Artima, Findbugs, Hessian, OGNL, Quartz, Trove, Tales, Javolution, Weblogic, Spring, Maven, QCon, Guava, JPA, Colt, Zing, Pico, JAXB, Applets, Struts, Groovy, JavaFX, Log4J, BluRay, Glassfish, Tapestry, JavaRanch, JRoller, Fusion, Excelsior JET, JAX-WS, BIRT, JDOM, Yourkit, SmartCard, JTA, Fantom, Gradle, Netbeans, OSGi, CXF, JSTL, ActiveMQ, JEDI, Camel, JRuby, ServiceMix, Jython, Joda-Time, and many, many more!

It is a huge ecosystem - with a gigantic community

The investment by Sun, now Oracle, is miniscule compared to that of the rest of the community. Essential and vital, but miniscule.

And that is The Deal! The investment by Sun/Oracle (which is increasing under Oracle) is a whole lot less valuable if the community and ecosystem is destroyed. And that is why the recent Java Community Process debates really matter.

In order to function, there needs to be a safe base for everyone to work off. This has for many years been investment from Sun/Oracle moderated via the Java Community Process. But that deal has hit a major roadblock in the last few months.

The crazy part is that by damaging the community, Oracle's actions damage themselves! As The Deal indicates, Oracle's current increased investment, and the pushing forward of Java 7 and 8, is of limited value if the community and ecosystem ebbs away and ceases to make the platform relevant.

The lawsuits and JCP actions simply serve to push that community away, creating distrust. Some in the Oracle management chain need to think again about what community and ecosystem really means.

Sometimes it means taking decisions that are against the immediate and obvious business benefit in order to keep the community and ecosystem happy and productive, gaining a bigger business benefit later.

The message is simple. Everyone in the community and ecosystem, from the biggest company to the smallest individual matters. Even those who might be classified as "enemies" or "competition" are in fact business partners who are vital to Oracle's investment in Java.

That's what a symbiotic relationship means. And what The Deal summarises.

Stephen Colebourne
Personal opinion about the state of the Java community

Is the JCP dead?

Today, the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) joined Doug Lea and Tim Peierls in resigning from the Java Community Process (JCP) Executive Committee (EC). The message from the ASF was simple - The JCP is Dead. But is it?

Is the JCP dead?

The JCP, is the Java Community Process, setup in 1998. But why did it get created at all?

Well, back in 1996 - 14 years ago - Sun started on the road of creating an globally recognised Open Standard for Java at the International Standards Organisation (ISO). This standard was a promise to the community, in part to gain adoption of the platform.

If you weren't involved in Java at the time this might seem unimportant. Yet I can remember using the promise of an Open Standard as one of the arguments for adopting Java as the principal language in the insurer I worked at. I'm sure other developer's similarly found the Open Standard argument useful in adoption discussions. That promise was responsible in part for the rapid adoption of Java.

Sadly, the tale of standardisation through ISO, and then ECMA, is a sordid one. This was a time when Microsoft feared and abused Java resulting in a lawsuit. Sun faced two main hurdles. Firstly, that it wouldn't give up its copyright, patents, trademarks or rights to the compatibility testing suite (which ISO wanted them to). And secondly, the very rational fear that its competitors, notably Microsoft and HP, would abuse the standards process to gain control of, and destroy, Java. (For full details, see this excellent academic paper).

The JCP was setup effectively after the efforts at ISO and before the efforts at ECMA. But initially, it was very focussed on vendors, with a minimum $2000 price tag per year. Some early criticism is still interesting:

To me this makes it pretty clear, that this process is not an open one. If you're still not convinced, ask yourself these questions:

0. Can anyone tell Sun No? Can anyone keep Sun from putting something into the spec they want to put it in? Or put something in that Sun wants to keep out?

1. Can Sun's enemies (e.g. Microsoft, HP, etc.) participate in this process on an equal footing with Sun? Can they even participate at all?

When you actually read the fine print, what the Java Community Process says is that Sun agrees to let other companies contribute their time, money, and knowledge to help Sun do what it wants to do anyway. That may be intelligent business, but it's not an open, community based process for developing standards.

In hindsight, Sun's choices to avoid ISO and ECMA look reasonable. Java was not that established, and fast moving technology often doesn't fit well in standards bodies. And the threat from Microsoft was very real. Thus the JCP was better than nothing. It wasn't an open standards body though.

The Apache Software Foundation (ASF) did not participate initially but later played a part. In the lead up to JavaOne 2002, the Apache Software Foundation worked with Sun to ensure that specifications from the JCP could be implemented in Open Source. On stage announcement (large mp4 file) and Press reports:

The biggest news of this year's JavaOne was delivered Tuesday morning by Jason Hunter, an Apache Software Foundation vice president, co-creator of JDOM, and author of the popular O'Reilly Servlets book. Flanked by Sun CEO Scott McNeally and Sun vice president Rob Gingell, Hunter outlined an agreement negotiated between Sun and Apache that has broad-ranging implications to developers and to the future of Java itself. First, all in-progress and future Sun-led Java Specification Requests (JSRs) will be made available under a license that allows for open source.

In addition, key JSRs that have already been released will have their license altered to this newer, more open license. Even JSRs not being led by Sun can release their reference implementations under an open source license. Finally, Test Compatibility Kits (TCKs) for Sun-led JSRs will be made available for free to qualifying open source and academic groups.

There is a further important implication of Sun's statement that "Sun will modify the specification licenses of all the JSRs currently in progress to reflect Apache's requirements as met in the new draft JSPA." The JSPA is the legal agreement signed by members when they join the Java Community Process. Hunter points out that the draft JSPA includes the requirement that the TCK be licensed separately from the Reference Implementation (RI). In the past, commercial interests, which used to have to license the RI and TCK together, were bound by some interesting legal issues by having the RI source. Under the new agreement, they can now pay just for the TCK. This will help JBoss, for example, which can't get the TCK because it's currently only provided with the RI; they can't see the RI and remain independent.

This agreement from 2002, and the associated updated JSPA legal agreement, are the defining legal basis for the ASF's actions today.

The actual JSPA says.

Other than as set forth above, the Spec Lead agrees not to impose any contractual condition or covenant that would limit or restrict the right of any licensee to create or distribute such Independent Implementations.

Since 2002, the ASF, and many others, have implemented JSRs using these rights. This includes Apache Tomcat, Geronimo, OpenEJB, MyFaces and many more. The ecosystem worked! And surely the community now had an Open Standards body for Java equivalent to ISO?

But, when the ASF started the Harmony project, Sun was not happy.

It decided to stop Harmony using a Field Of Use restriction on the testing compatibility kit. The aim was simple, if Harmony passed the tests, then it wouldn't be open source software. Thus the ASF couldn't release Harmony. It was legally clever. Except that it conflicted with the JSPA legal agreement, as outlined above.

After private negotiations went nowhere, the ASF talked to the JCP Executive Committee (EC). The EC supported the position of the ASF in two critical votes. Oracle voted in support of the position of the ASF in both votes.

By this stage, Sun was in financial trouble. The apparent threat from Harmony was that the Java ME licensing revenue would disappear, and since every last dollar mattered, Sun did not feel able to concede. Instead, Sun released OpenJDK as the GPLv2 implementation of Java, placating some like Richard Stallman.

But the dispute itself dragged on. And on. And on.

Until Oracle bought Sun.

At that point there was hope that the issue would be resolved. After all, Oracle's public position was in support of the ASF. But over time it became apparent that Oracle intended to make no change to the licensing offered. It had done a U-turn.

So why didn't the ASF sue Sun, then Oracle? Well, basically its a really bad idea for a not-for-profit to sue a mega corporation, no matter how good the case. (That said, it might still have been the better course of action)

And why did the Executive Committee fail to fix the problem? Because there is no dispute resolution process in the JCP. All legal agreements are between the member and Sun, now Oracle - because the JCP itself is just a department, not an actual legally recognised organisation.

What the EC could do was prevent the approval of the Java SE 7 JSR. And they did. While this isn't the whole reason why its been so long since Java SE 6, it is a major part of the story.

Once Oracle finally got to grips with the issue it made a decision to force Java SE 7 and 8 through, no matter what. Tim Peirels captured this in his resignation statement:

Add to that Oracle's expressed intent to proceed with the SE7/8 JSRs whatever the outcome of the vote, and one can only conclude that the SE/EE EC is never going to be more than a rubber stamp for Oracle. (The belligerent tone with which this message was delivered does not come across in the public minutes, but it was loud and clear over my phone connection.)

At the same time, the second strand of Oracle's plan was in action. IBM and Apple were being invited to join OpenJDK in leadership positions. Effectively, this was the sign that IBM would now vote through the Java SE 7 and 8 JSRs, irrespective of the ASF dispute.

However, even I was surprised at just how clear the mismatch between the Java SE 7 license and the JSPA was. Not only that, the license terms are inconsistent with the stated uses of the JSR itself.

Of course, none of this mattered. The EC corporate members, and their lackie Eclipse, had decided to pass the JSRs even though they were in violation of the legal agreements. This was now big company politics, and if the ASF had to go, then it had to go.

Doug Lea resigned just before the vote. Tim Peirels just after. And today, the ASF joined them.

After all, there is no point helping to write specifications that you aren't allowed to implement.

But were they right to declare the JCP is dead?

The first ASF claim is that the JCP is not an open standards organisation because there are restrictions made in the commercial interests of one party that prevent another from producing an implementation. The second ASF claim is that the EC failed to perform its duty to enforce the rules and to defend a fellow member.

By approving Java SE 7, the EC has failed on both counts : the members of the EC refused to stand up for the rights of implementers, and by accepting Oracle's TCK license terms for Java SE 7, they let the integrity of the JCP's licensing structure be broken.

The Apache Software Foundation concludes that that JCP is not an open specification process - that Java specifications are proprietary technology that must be licensed directly from the spec lead under whatever terms the spec lead chooses; that the commercial concerns of a single entity, Oracle, will continue to seriously interfere with and bias the transparent governance of the ecosystem; that it is impossible to distribute independent implementations of JSRs under open source licenses such that users are protected from IP litigation by expert group members or the spec lead; and finally, the EC is unwilling or unable to assert the basic power of their role in the JCP governance process.

But none of this definitively means that the JCP is dead.

Oracle's public argument is that Java needs to move forward:

Last month Oracle renominated Apache to the Java Executive Committee because we valued their active participation and perspective on Java. Earlier this week, by an overwhelming majority, the Java Executive Committee voted to move Java forward by formally initiating work on both Java SE 7 and SE 8 based on their technical merits. Apache voted against initiating technical committee work on both SE 7 and SE 8, effectively voting against moving Java forward. Now, despite supporting the technical direction, Apache have announced that they are quitting the Executive Committee. Oracle has a responsibility to move Java forward and to maintain the uniformity of the Java standard for the millions of Java developers and the majority of Executive Committee members agree. We encourage Apache to reconsider its position and remain a part of the process to move Java forward. ASF and many open source projects within it are an important part of the overall Java ecosystem.

For me, this is very hollow. The reference to "technical merits" covers the fact that many members used their comments to object to the licensing. And frankly, Oracle were going to proceed whether or not the EC voted "Yes".

My conclusion is that the EC should have voted "No" and forced Oracle to run Java SE 7 and 8 outside the JCP, thus preserving the integrity of the EC and the JSPA license. And this action would have had zero effect on "moving Java forward".

Since the EC voted "Yes", they tacitly accepted Oracle's right to break the JSPA legal agreement when it is in their commercial interest.

Given that the ASF has no commercial axe to grind, they made the sensible choice to leave. And since the EC failed to act as the leaders of the industry it is entirely reasonable to say that the JCP is now a sham body where legal agreements mean little.

Thus essentially whether you consider the JCP is dead or not depends on what you believe the JCP is.

Since 2002, I have essentially seen the JCP as a vendor-neutral open standards body, the Java specific equal of ISO. Clearly, it can no longer be viewed as that.

But others have viewed it more as a useful tool for influencing the owner of Java, where the output sometimes allows the creation of a competitive ecosystem around a specification. Viewed this way, the JCP is still entirely feasible.

Certainly, Doug Lea saw it as the former:

I believe that the JCP is no longer a credible specification and standards body

So, is the JCP dead? Well, it will probably limp on for a while. And if the second view of what it is takes hold, then it may have some future as far as big corporates are concerned.

But it cannot now be seen as an Open Standards Body.

So its both dead and undead. A zombie.

Summary

Its the end of an era. An era of hope that the JCP would be Java's ISO, producing truly Open Standards.

So as that era closes we look forward to the new closed era of Java. Where its Oracle's way or the highway.

Stephen Colebourne
Apache Software Foundation member, speaking personally
Oracle Java Champion, speaking personally
Not a committer on Harmony or OpenJDK

Java SE 7/8 passed

So, the Java SE 7 and 8 votes passed.

Java SE 7 passed by 12 votes to 3 (Apache, Google and Tim Peierls voting against).

Java SE 8 passed by 12 votes to 3 (Apache, Google and Tim Peierls voting against).

Project Coin passed by 13 votes to 1 with 1 abstention (Apache voting against and Tim Peierls abstaining).

Project Lambda passed by 13 votes to 1 with 1 abstention (Apache voting against and Tim Peierls abstaining).

But it looks like many of the voters were unhappy.

Java SE 7 vote results

When voting for a JSR there is the opportunity to leave comments. These often indicate the true feelings of voters more than the actual Yes or No. Here are the actual vote comments for Java SE 7 (the Java SE 8 comments are similar but with reference to OSGi):

On 2010-12-03 Peierls, Tim voted No with the following comment:
Changing my vote from "Abstain" to "No" to register my extreme disappointment with Oracle's failure to address EC questions about the licensing terms of this JSR.
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On 2010-11-17 Google Inc. voted No with the following comment:
While we support the technical content of this JSR, Google is voting no because of its licensing terms. As per the JCP resolutions of 9/25/2007 and 4/7/2009, "TCK licenses must not be used to discriminate against or restrict compatible implementations of Java specifications by including field-of-use restrictions on the tested implementations or otherwise. Licenses containing such limitations do not meet the requirements of the JSPA, the agreement under which the JCP operates, and violate the expectations of the Java community that JCP specs can be openly implemented." Most EC members, including Oracle, voted for both of these resolutions. But the proposed license clearly violates them in Exhibit A, Section II.

It would be wrong to condone the inclusion of field-of-use restrictions in a TCK license (which violates the above resolution and the JSPA) by voting for this JSR. We were initially reluctant to vote no because we do not want to delay progress of the Java platform. But this concern was made moot by Oracle's statement at the JCP meeting of 10/4/2010 that they intend to move forward with the release outlined in this JSR with or without the approval of the JCP.
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On 2010-11-17 Oracle voted Yes with no comment.
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On 2010-11-29 SAP AG voted Yes with the following comment:
While we are disappointed that Oracle has decided to deny Apache a TCK license for Java 7, SAP's vote is strictly based on the technical merits of the Java 7 specification, not on its license terms. While we believe it is important for Java 7 to proceed now, we want to express our disagreement about Oracle's decision regarding the TCK for Apache. The reason that was provided to the EC was that Java compatibility could no longer be enforced with code shared under a permissive open source license. As the new steward of the Java language, we respect Oracle's right to license their intellectual property under terms that support their strategy of how to evolve the Java ecosystem. However, we believe that the additional potential for innovation in open source communities outside of OpenJDK well offsets the risks as already demonstrated in the Java Enterprise space.
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On 2010-11-30 Hewlett-Packard voted Yes with no comment.
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On 2010-12-02 IBM voted Yes with the following comment:
IBM's vote is based on the technical merits of this JSR and is not a vote on the licensing terms. IBM supports licensing models that create an open and level playing field by allowing third parties to create independent implementations of Java Specifications and that do not allow individuals or companies to exercise unnecessary control for proprietary advantage. We support open source as a licensing model for contributions in the JCP, and would hope others will support this direction. This comment is not necessarily directed at the current business or license terms for this JSR, however, it is a statement of IBM's preferred licensing model.
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On 2010-11-30 Ericsson AB voted Yes with no comment.
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On 2010-12-01 Apache Software Foundation voted No with the following comment:
The Apache Software Foundation must vote no on this JSR. While we support the technical contents of the JSR, and earnestly support the need for the Java platform to move forward, we cannot in good conscience vote for this JSR because :

a) This JSR's TCK license includes a "Field of Use" restriction that restricts commonplace and mundane use of independent implementations, a licensing element that not only is prohibited by the JSPA but also has been unanimously rejected by the majority of the members of the JCP EC - including Oracle - on several occasions. We can only speculate why Oracle included such an element, but we believe that an open specification ecosystem must be independent of - and protected from - any entity's commercial interests.

b) On process grounds, this JSR is in conflict with it's own TCK license. The JSR explicitly states that Java SE is targeted for, among others, embedded deployments. Yet the TCK license specifically prohibits such usages (for example, netbooks) of tested independent implementations. We find this to be a misleading legal trap for potential implementers, and believe that any independent implementation that passes the TCK should be able to be used and distributed under whatever terms deemed fit by the implementer.

c) The spec lead has ignored repeated requests from multiple EC members for and explanation of both a) and b)

d) The spec lead - Oracle - is in breach of their obligations under the JSPA by continuing to provide a TCK license for Apache Harmony under terms that allow Apache to distribute its independent implementation under terms of its choice. We do not believe that anyone that willfully fails to meet their contractual obligations under the JSPA should be allowed to participate as a member in good stating in the JCP. The rules apply to everyone.

While we understand that it's Oracle's stated intent to move forward irrespective of the EC's decision, we urge Oracle to fix the above-mentioned issues, and continue to work with the members of the JCP within the structure of the JCP to keep Java a vital and viable platform.
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On 2010-12-02 Eclipse Foundation, Inc voted Yes with the following comment:
Eclipse is disappointed with the continuing issues around Java licensing. The unresolved TCK licensing issue with the Apache Software Foundation is a symptom of the fundamental problem with FOU restrictions on the Java platform. Our vote is based entirely on the premise that improvements and evolution are required if the Java platform is to remain viable. In addition, we remain concerned that the future of Java modularity may fail to adequately reflect the requirements of the existing OSGi community and ecosystem. Future votes on these JSRs will reflect this concern.
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On 2010-12-02 Fujitsu Limited voted Yes with no comment.
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On 2010-12-04 RedHat voted Yes with the following comment:
Red Hat's vote is based solely on the technical merits of the JSR. We believe that this JSR is important for the industry at large and that further delays risk fracturing the Java landscape further. However, we are extremely disappointed with the license terms and that a more open license has not been adopted by the Specification Lead. We continue to believe that the TCK should contain no "field of use restrictions", as originally raised by Apache with regard to another JSR during the development of EE6 (i.e. the SE TCK licensing). As a result, this approach risks limiting adoption of this and subsequent JSRs by a wider audience and the fracturing that we mentioned earlier could still occur. We hope that all Specification Leads will take this into account in the future and rank the viability of the Java Community higher than one individual member's abilities to monetise the platform.
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On 2010-12-05 VMWare voted Yes with no comment.
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On 2010-12-06 Keil, Werner voted Yes with the following comment:
While I'm equally dissapointed with the ongoing license dispute and the effect this and other issues had on the actual content and scope of Java 7 (I am not the only one who feels this is technically hardly worthy of a version major compared to especially Java 5) I believe, it is a necessary and long overdue step towards the future of Java. I share discomfort with less talked about, but nevertheless tedious problems like the lack of modularity in SE7 and its effect on dependent JSRs like EE.
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On 2010-12-06 Intel Corp. voted Yes with no comment.
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On 2010-12-06 Credit Suisse voted Yes with the following comment:
Credit Suisse's vote is purely on the technical content. We strongly demand open standards and an active community around Java as we selected Java SE & EE as primary pillars for our application development (as many others in the industry do). The current battle around licensing term, however, reveals that Java never actually was an open standard. FOU restrictions clearly discriminate open source implementations and prevent competition, and with that, innovation in that space. While Java had a considerable head start, it lost a lot of momentum over the last years. Fragmentation (or a fork) of the language and its platforms are clearly not desired. But today, customers are already facing competing models for developing enterprise applications (e.g., Spring, OSGi, Java EE). The main problem, in our view, is the lack of modularization, clear delineation of Java IPs owned by Oracle and truly open standard extensions, and the ignorance of developments outside of the JCP (even though OSGi has a JCP blessing). The OpenJDK framework is not sufficient for all aspects of the language. Java must be kept interesting for researchers and universities: researchers not only contribute to the standards (e.g., Doug Lea for concurrency or Michael Ernst for type annotations) but also decide on the languages (and paradigms) that are taught at universities -- and this in the end determines the knowledge and mindset we acquire with our software engineers. While we recognize Oracle’s intellectual properties around Java, we strongly encourage Oracle to re-think its current position around licensing terms. We strongly support open source as a licensing model for contributions in the JCP.

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There is a lot in those comments to understand, and I can't cover it all now.

I do note Time Peierls decision (as an individual) to change his vote from "Abstain" to "No" and the reason given. Clearly, Oracle were asked to explain their licensing terms and how they square with the JSPA, and with the JSR text itself, and have failed to do so. My interpretation is that Oracle no longer felt the need to justify its actions.

I also castigate Hewlett-Packard, Ericsson AB, Fujitsu, VMWare (SpringSource) and Intel for not even having the courage to justify their actions (which are in direct opposition to previous votes). I will note that Intel has previously been a strong Apache supporter. However, I understand that the Intel representative on the JCP was changed a few months back, prior to the vote (no public source to confirm this as far as I know Update: the executive committee members list has been updated to show the change, which happened since July).

I am disappointed in all the "Yes" voters. Clearly Oracle intended to move Java SE 7 forward irrespective of the vote here. Thus voting "No" would have had no adverse consequences on the forward momentum and technical progress of Java. Since the main role of the Executive Committee, distinct from Expert Groups, is to consider the business implications it is clear that each company that voted "Yes" has given tacit approval to the business practices of Oracle. I suspect that they will come to regret that decision. Give a bully an inch and they will take a mile.

Summary

Today, Oracle won its battle in the JCP. But it was a stupid battle to have. Submitting a JSR whose licensing terms are in conflict with the JSR itself and with the JSPA was simply unnecessary. Voting "Yes" to it was simply cowardly.

The huge irony is that Oracle claims to support Java because all of its money making systems are written in Java, thus it is in its own interests to keep Java vibrant. Yet the strong-arm actions here simply push people away and harm that vibrancy. Go figure.

We should expect the response from the Apache Software Foundation soon.

Stephen Colebourne
Apache Software Foundation member, speaking personally
Oracle Java Champion, speaking personally
Not a committer on Harmony or OpenJDK

Devoxx whiteboard votes 2010

As usual at Devoxx, there were a number of Whiteboard polls. These aim to capture the sense of the community and are of course only semi-scientific!

This year, picking questions was a little tricky, given the current disputes. I decided to ask questions focussed on specific topics and provide a choice of responses. Of course, you can never cover all valid responses, so there was always a comment area for extra opinions.

The +n notation after a comment means that n other people agreed with the comment. The <- notation means that what follows is a comment on the previous comment.

How do you feel about the Oracle vs Google lawsuit?

"It does not affect me. I do not care"	10
"It is necessary to avoid fragmenting the Java platform"	16
"There may be a case but legal action is a bad idea"	62
"I really care - its a dumb idea"	116
"It is encouraging me to look at non-Java platforms"	9
Total votes cast	213

View the photo. There were also some comments:

• The lawyers will win. +3
• Google should buy Java/Oracle
• Google should create/drop Java+
• $$Larry Ellison needs a new yacht. +2
• Ban software patents. +7
• Dimemma: Its fun to watch
• Big powerplay for mobile space
• Crazy SCO move!
• Fight!
• I know a good mediator: Equilon
• Patent trolls
• Patent should help small reality to contribute! Not help huge industry to black mail each other! <- (Ponies and Rainbows anyone?)
• What's JSR nnumber for Android!

A very clear answer was provided on this topic - devoxx attendees that voted were solidly against the lawsuit (over 87%). While a high number thought there might be a case even more thought the lawsuit was just plain dumb. If Oracle wants developers on its side, it is clear that the lawsuit is a problem. As always, the comments were entertaining too.

Should Java 8 or 9 be backwards incompatible?

"Yes! Its time to remove some old stuff to make room for new"	185
"Maybe! Some SMALL incompatible changes would be good"	35
"No! Backwards incompatibility is essential to Java"	27
"I don't care, I'll just use whatever I am given"	4
Total votes cast	251

View the photo. There were also some comments:

• Java NG, Bytecode should still be usable. +5
• Please cleanup IO
• Cleanup. Pe Java 5 stuff
• Remove java.util.Date. +1
• Corbe pollutes APIDOC <- so use Jigsaw
• Remove ESB2 compatibility +1

Clearly, a majority of voters wanted some form of backwards incompatibility (over 87%). This is a remarkably clear result and was more positive than I expected.

How do you feel about the JCP?

"It is very important and will continue to be"	3
"Everyone needs to start working together"	36
"It needs radical reform"	24
"It is no longer relevant"	5
"It is F***ed" (added by a conference attendee)	12
"I don't know anything about it" (added by a conference attendee)	8
Total votes cast	88

View the photo. There were also some comments:

• Who cares? OSS already demonstrates "de facto" standard to override JSR. +2
• Hibernate is OS,Hibernate gave birth to JPA, JPA is standard, Hibernate implements the standard (<- Mostly), Hibernate is still OS
• Design by committee
• Will be James Brown, doubt it. "Get in it, Get involved, Everybody get funky"
• Only good for big vendors, at the detriment of developers
• Get out of the way. Turn in to a real open COMMUNITY!
• The "new" mantra is cool: "Test stuff in the community first then standardize what really works"

Opinion was split here, on a relatively low turnout. Clearly compromise is still valued, but some believe it may be too late.

Does Oracle believe in the Java community?

"Yes! They are investing $millions"	10
"Maybe! They just see it differently to Sun"	83
"No! They are severly damaging the community"	36
"I don't care, the community is not important"	2
Total votes cast	131

View the photo. There were also some comments:

• Bad communication, but they really wat to learn. +1
• Google and ASF should join forces and start working on BIJava cause Oracle will never have the balls to do it
• JavaOne needs to be 1st class citizen again! +1
• Demonstrate first: Free talk +3
• Trust must be earned
• Larry Ellison pick up the phone, Eric Schmidt pick up the phone, Geir Magnusson Jr pick up the phone, DEAL
• <-(someone forgot to call me!)
• Java community is watcing! If Oracle f****up something new might come out and takeover
• Communication is the key!

The message here seems to be that many are still willing to give Oracle a chance. I'm interested in those that do not believe community is important ;-)

How should Oracle make money from Java?

	Paid for	$Free
"Core JVM"	0	39
"JVM tools (JRockit mission control)"	26	10
"IDEs"	7	24
"Application server (Webloic)"	30	4
"Middleware (ESB/Fusion)"	31	3

View the photo. There were also some comments:

• Not +2 ("not" as in should not make any money I presume)
• Stop paying lawyers! <- LOL
• In whatever way works to max income

This vote only started on Thursday, hence the lower voting figures. The results ought to be predictable, but clearly a few want $free everything. In general it looks like Oracle's paid vs $free choices are about right.

OpenJDK is now the "heart" of Java

"I will contribute to OpenJDK"	12
"I like OpenJDK but don't want to contribute"	16
"The OpenJDK GPL license is uncertain because of Oracle's patents"	31
"I don't believe OpenJDK should be the only Java SE implementation"	37
Total votes cast	96

View the photo. There were also some comments:

• Troll? +1
• A clear statement from Oracle is needed on WHY they do not want to make it possible for others to have Java implementations (Harmony). Would like to hear BUSINESS reasons. +8
• <-Maybe mreinhold could explain?
• More communication is what will solve the problems & stop damaging speculation
• Oracle should make TCK available w/o field-of-use restrictions. +5
• Harmony FTW, keeps them true. +1
• It should be. +1
• Should be LGPL

There is definitely support here for other Java SE implementations, yet not a huge number of votes overall. I suspect that amongst those that know the story it matters, but in general it doesn't. I also find the (popular) comment for an explanation interesting.

What is your favourite non-Java language?

Scala	69
Groovy	42
Python	22
Javascript	22
Ruby	16
Clojure	8
Objective C	7
Smalltalk	7
PHP	5
C	5
C++	5
Perl	5
Fantom	3
C#	3
Forth	3
Z80 assembler	3
Human language	3
Body language	2
CSS	2
Pascal	2
BAS#	2
Haskell	1
Visage	1
Erlang	1
Modula 3	1
MPS	1
Prolog	1
Eiffel	1
InterCal	1
MatLab	1
BPMN 2	1
Lisp	1
LiveCode	1
HyperTalk	1
Total votes cast	244

View the photo. Last year Groovy came top, this year it is Scala. One point to bear in mind is that Groovy conferences are now well established, so possibly those most dedicated to Groovy nonw attend those. Or maybe Scala is getting more popular. And I was personally surprised to see how popular Python is.

Summary

Devoxx votes are nothing more than a snapshot of opinion by a proportion of the attendees of Devoxx. Yet despite the caveats, their results can be interesting. Its the power of the community!

Java SE 7 and 8 JSRs published

Following yesterday's statements from Oracle and Apache, the meaty JSRs are now published and announced by Mark Reinhold.

I’m pleased to note the submission of four new Java Specification Requests to the Java Community Process:

* JSR 334: Small Enhancements to the Java Programming Language, by Joe Darcy with help from Jon Gibbons, Maurizio Cimadamore, and many others in Project Coin;
* JSR 335: Lambda Expressions for the Java Programming Language, by Brian Goetz with help from Alex Buckley, Maurizio, and others in Project Lambda;
* JSR 336: Java SE 7 Release Contents, for the enormous team effort that is JDK 7 (the first half of Plan B); and, finally,
* JSR 337: Java SE 8 Release Contents, for the eventual JDK 8 (the rest of Plan B).

These JSRs have been a long time coming. They’re now—finally—on the JCP Executive Committee ballot for approval; results should be available in two weeks.

My thanks to everyone who’s contributed to the related OpenJDK Projects.

Cool! Java is moving forward! And JSR-310 is proposed for Java SE 8!

But, lets take a peek at the interesting stuff... the licensing terms. (OK, its not really that interesting unless you want to understand the raging Java disputes...)

Firstly, the licenses are provided in Word Document format! (See section 2.18 of the JSR page for the links)

Its late here, so I only have limited time to evaluate the licenses. At first glance, the Specification and Reference Implementation licenses look fairly normal and bland (but I may be wrong). The interesting one is the TCK (testing kit) license.

I emphasise that this should be considered to be notes on the TCK license based on a relatively quick reading. If you read this blog and reference this topic/story in another blog or article, you are advised to read and examine the original license text yourself, or include a suitable caveat.

The famous "Field of Use" is an explicit part of the license:

1.4 "Exhibit A" means collectively Exhibits A-1 through A-n which incorporate into the Agreement the specific terms and conditions for each TCK licensed hereunder.

1.6 "Field of Use" means the relevant market segments for products tested by a particular TCK for a Java Environment Specification as specified in the applicable Exhibit A(s).

The "Java Environment Specification" is defined, covering Java SE:

1.8 "Java Environment(s) Specification" means a Java Specification that defines a baseline API set that provides a foundation upon which applications and other Java Specifications can be built. For example, and not by way of limitation, Java Environment Specifications include: (a) “Platform Editions” such as the Java Platform, Standard Edition ("Java SE"); Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (“Java EE”); and Java Platform, Micro Edition (“Java ME”) Specifications; (b) “Configurations” such as the Connected Device (“CDC”) and Connected Limited Device (“CLDC”) Configurations; and (c) “Profiles” such as the Mobile Information Device (“MIDP”) Profile.

The definition of a "product" contains what looks like an unusual part (highlighted). It appears that a "product" must meet three criteria beyond the basic ones:

• "have a principal purpose which is substantially different from a stand-alone implementation of that specification"
• "represent a significant functional and value enhancement over any stand-alone implementation of that specification"
• "not be marketed as a technology which replaces or substitutes for a stand-alone implementation of that specification"

I believe that Apache Harmony would fail all three of these tests (were the project to try and implement this JSR, which they probably won't). Since a "stand-alone implementation" would be either OpenJDK or OracleJDK, the principal purpose of Harmony is clearly the same (not substantially different), Harmony does not offer significant functional enhancement, and Harmony would be marketed as a replacement for OpenJDK/OracleJDK.

1.12 "Product(s)" means a Licensee product which: (i) fully implements the Java Specification(s) identified in Exhibit A including all its required interfaces and functionality; (ii) does not modify, subset, superset or otherwise extend the Licensor Name Space, or include any public or protected packages, classes, Java interfaces, fields, methods or constructors within the Licensor Name Space other than those required/authorized by the Specification or Specifications being implemented; (iii) passes the TCK (including satisfying the requirements of the applicable TCK Users Guide) for such Specification; and (iv) neither derives from nor includes any of Oracle’s source code or binary code materials which implement any portion of the Java Specification, except for code contributed by Oracle to an open source project (e.g. Apache’s “Tomcat” project) and that is rightfully (i.e. pursuant to a separate and appropriate license) included in the product to be tested. In addition, to be a Product, a Licensee product that implements a Java Environment Specification must: (a) have a principal purpose which is substantially different from a stand-alone implementation of that specification, while the value-added portion of the product operates in conjunction with the portion that implements the Java Environment Specification; (b) represent a significant functional and value enhancement over any stand-alone implementation of that specification; and (c) not be marketed as a technology which replaces or substitutes for a stand-alone implementation of that specification.
(My highlights)

Criteria are given as to what not to do. This indicates that no one may distribute code that implements the specification unless it is part of a product, as defined above. Given Apache Harmony cannot be a product, it cannot be distributed.

(b) Additional Limitations. Except as otherwise set forth in Exhibit A, Licensee may not:
...
(v) distribute code which implements any portion of the Java Specification unless such code is included in a Product within the meaning of Section 1.12 and unless, for each new release of a Product by Licensee, such Product passes, in accordance with the Documentation (including the TCK Users Guide), the most current TCK applicable to the latest version of the Java Specification and available from Oracle one hundred twenty (120) days before FCS of such version of the Product; provided, however, that if Licensee elects to use a version of the TCK also provided by Oracle that is newer than that which is required under this Section 2.1(b)(v), then Licensee agrees to pass such TCK;
(My higlights)

Were a court case to challenge the contents of the license, Oracle can at its discretion terminate the licence.

11.4 Partial Invalidity. If any of the above provisions are held to be in violation of applicable law, void, or unenforceable in any jurisdiction, then such provisions are herewith waived or amended to the extent necessary for the Agreement to be otherwise enforceable in such jurisdiction. However, if in Oracle's opinion deletion or amendment of any provisions of the Agreement by operation of this paragraph unreasonably compromises the rights or increase the liabilities of Oracle or its licensors, Oracle reserves the right to terminate the Agreement.

And Exhibit A contains the actual "Field of Use" terms. These specifically exclude wireless mobile telephones, kiosks and even netbooks (highlighted). Remember that any Field of Use restriction violates the OSI open source definition.

EXHIBIT A
TECHNOLOGY SPECIFIC TERMS AND CONDITIONS

I. Description of TCK, Test Tools and Documentation

A. Java Specification: Java Platform, Standard Edition, version 7 (“Java SE 7”), which includes mandatory standalone elements to the extent described and permitted in the Java SE 7 specification and which includes optional elements to the extent described and permitted in the Java SE 7 specification
...
II. Field(s) of Use: Products for use on “General Purpose Desktop Computers and Servers" meaning computers, including desktop and laptop computers, or servers, used for general computing functions under end user control (such as but not specifically limited to email, general purpose Internet browsing, and office suite productivity tools). The use of Software in systems and solutions that provide dedicated functionality (other than as mentioned above) or designed for use in embedded or function-specific software applications, for example, but not limited to: Software embedded in or bundled with industrial control systems, wireless mobile telephones, wireless handheld devices, netbooks, kiosks, TV/STB, Blu-ray Disc devices, telematics and network control switching equipment, printers and storage management systems, and other related systems are excluded from this definition.
(My highlights)

The published release must contain a note from Oracle emphasising the conditions on further distribution:

1. The following provision is added as subparagraph (viii) to the Additional Limitations set forth in Section 2.1(b):

(viii) distribute Products unless accompanied by the following notice from Oracle, where the notice is displayed in a manner that anyone receiving the Product will see the notice:

NOTICE FROM ORACLE:
If you redistribute the software licensed hereunder (including derivative works thereof) for your direct or indirect commercial gain, then we are not authorized to grant or otherwise pass through to you any licenses under Oracle applicable intellectual property or other rights, if any, and as a result any such use is a violation of Oracle’s applicable rights. Any redistribution of the software licensed hereunder (including derivative works thereof) must be compatible and branded with the appropriate compliance logo specified by Oracle and licensed by Oracle to you pursuant to a separate Trademark License required to be executed by you with Oracle.

Redistribution of the software licensed hereunder must retain this notice.

The cost of the TCK is specified. And it is cheap. So, none of the dispute is directly about money (indirectly is another matter!).

A. For Commercial Licensees: $100,000.00 (as of the Effective Date) per year. All fees shall be due upon execution of this Agreement. In addition, Oracle shall have no obligation to deliver or make available the TCK until such fees are received by Oracle.

B. For Qualified Not-for-Profits and Qualified Individuals: $0.

And thats it. Well, at least the parts I see as being interesting. But if you want to comment on this, you really should read it yourself!

Sadly, at 3am, I don't have time to contrast the TCK license with the JSPA.

To be honest, I'm surprised that the TCK license for Java SE 7 still contains any pretence that it can be implemented in open source by anyone other than Oracle. At least the restrictions are clear (and I suspect, but cannot prove, that very similar restrictions were offered for Java SE 5 in the Sun/Oracle vs Harmony dispute).

I personally expect these 4 JSRs to pass the JCP Executive Committee vote in two weeks time as I see no evidence that committee members are still up for a fight. If the vote passes, I expect the ASF will immediately leave the JCP.

I will leave the biggest amusing point until last. The TCK license conflicts with the JSR! The JSR itself says:

2.2 What is the target Java platform? (i.e., desktop, server, personal, embedded, card, etc.)

This JSR defines a release of the Java SE platform targeted at embedded, desktop, server, and cloud environments.
(My highlights)

So, the JSR is targetted at embedded environments! That's not what the TCK license says ;-)

Stephen Colebourne
Apache Software Foundation member, speaking personally
Oracle Java Champion, speaking personally
Not a committer on Harmony or OpenJDK

Oracle replies to the ASF

Oracle have responded to the Apache Software Foundation board statement.

Oracle nominated Apache for a seat on the Executive Committee in recognition of Apache's continued participation and valued contribution to the community. The recently released statement by the ASF Board with regard to their participation in the JCP calling for EC members to vote against SE7 is a call for continued delay and stagnation of the past several years. We would encourage Apache to reconsider their position and work together with Oracle and the community at large to collectively move Java forward. Oracle provides TCK licenses under fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms consistent with its obligations under the JSPA. Oracle believes that with EC approval to initiate the SE7 and SE8 JSRs, the Java community can get on with the important work of driving forward Java SE and other standards in open, transparent, consensus-driven expert groups. This is the priority. Now is the time for positive action. Now is the time to move Java forward.
Don Deutsch, Vice President of Standards and Architecture

Update 16 Nov: And the ASF responded to the response!!! Here it is:

Oracle statement regarding Java: "Now is the time for positive action (and) to move Java forward."

The ball is in your court. Honor the agreement.

I've used this blog to highlight the role of politics in the development of Java, especially in this dispute. Personally, I'm glad that this story is coming to an end, as I can write more code and less blogs!

Basically, I see this statement from Oracle as expected and well written. Expected, because it simply states the known position. Well written, because it puts a spin on what Apache actually said.

The key sentence is "Oracle provides TCK licenses under fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms consistent with its obligations under the JSPA."

Bear in mind that the TCK offered would result in the tested Harmony code not being able to be released under any open source license, not just the Apache license. See my previous detailed explanation with pictures. I'm almost amused that anyone would describe those terms as "fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory".

Actually, the sentence doesn't talk about Harmony at all. Technically, it doesn't claim that any fair terms were offered to Harmony. All the sentence actually claims is that Oracle provides TCK licenses under fair terms, which is true for every other JSR expect Java SE. Yes, I really am reading this statement as a lawyer could!

I'd also point out Don's previous actions from 2007:

Resolution 1 (proposed by Oracle, seconded by BEA)
"It is the sense of the Executive Committee that the JCP become an open independent vendor-neutral Standards Organization where all members participate on a level playing field with the following characteristics:
* members fund development and management expenses
* a legal entity with by-laws, governing body, membership, etc.
* a new, simplified IPR Policy that permits the broadest number of implementations
* stringent compatibility requirements
* dedicated to promoting the Java programming model

Furthermore, the EC shall put a plan in place to make such transition as soon as practical with minimal disruption to the Java Community."

Oracle (Don) voted yes

Resolution 2 (proposed by BEA, seconded by Intel)
"The SEEE EC requests Sun to submit a Java SE7 JSR with the following characteristics:
* EG members will share costs by contributing to the TCK and RI submitted under common licensing terms that will allow any implementer to use them;
* accompanied by public spec, tck, ri licenses at JSR initiation;
* licenses do not contain Field of Use restrictions on spec implementations. * the JSR is operated by the Spec Lead under democratic principles (e.g. Java SE6)

Furthermore, from the time of submission, TCK license(s) for Java SE5 and later will be offered without field of use restrictions on spec implementations enabling the TCK to be used by organizations including Apache."

Oracle (Don) voted yes

Only Don can truly answer why his opinion changed once he was in a position to action what he called for.

So what next?

Well, barring an earthquake, the Java SE 7 vote will proceed, the vote will go Oracle's way, and the ASF will leave the JCP entirely. I do not see either the ASF or Oracle slowing down the Java SE 7 timetable at this point.

Finally, we sometimes need to remember that Oracle continues to invest heavily in Java, from ME to SE to EE to FX. We all want an end to stagnation. I simply object to the approach chosen to end the stagnation.

Stephen Colebourne
Apache Software Foundation member, speaking personally
Oracle Java Champion, speaking personally
Not a committer on Harmony or OpenJDK

ASF ready to leave JCP

The Apache Software Foundation board has released a statement regarding the JCP.

The Apache Software Foundation (ASF) is proud to announce that it has been ratified for another three-year term on the Java Community Process (JCP) Executive Committee. Receiving support from 95% of the voters, this election allows the ASF to continue its 10 year effort to help bring transparency and openness to the JCP as well as ensure that Java specifications are able to be independently implemented and distributed under open source licenses.

We are grateful for the strong support from the community, and believe it is a validation of the work the ASF is doing in the JCP. Our efforts to transform the JCP into a truly open specification ecosystem help strengthen the value of Java for everyone -- for implementors of open source projects such as those found at the ASF and elsewhere, for students, educators and academics using Java for teaching and research, for independent software vendors that build innovative products and services on Java, and for commercial users in all areas of economic activity that depend on Java to run and grow their businesses.

Through the JSPA, the agreement under which both Oracle and the ASF participate in the JCP, the ASF has been entitled to a license for the test kit for Java SE (the "TCK") that will allow the ASF to test and distribute a release of the Apache Harmony project under the Apache License. Oracle is violating their contractual obligation as set forth under the rules of the JCP by only offering a TCK license that imposes additional terms and conditions that are not compatible with open source or Free software licenses. The ASF believes that any specification lead that doesn't follow the JCP rules should not be able to participate as a member in good standing, and we have exercised our votes on JSRs -- our only real power on the JCP -- accordingly. We have voted against Sun starting and continuing JSRs, and have made it clear that we would vote against the JSR for Java SE 7 for these reasons.

In light of Oracle Corporation failing to uphold their responsibilities as a Specification Lead under the JSPA and breaking their signed covenants with the Apache Software Foundation that are the conditions under which we agreed to participate in the JCP, we call upon the Executive Committee of the JCP to continue its clear, strong and public support for Java as an open specification ecosystem that is a level playing field for participants in order to ensure that anyone -- any individual or commercial, academic or non-profit entity -- is able to implement and distribute Java specifications under terms of their choice. Specifically, we encourage the other members of the JCP EC to continue with their support of our position regarding Oracle, and vote accordingly on the upcoming Java SE 7 vote.

The ASF will terminate its relationship with the JCP if our rights as implementers of Java specifications are not upheld by the JCP Executive Committee to the limits of the EC's ability. The lack of active, strong and clear enforcement of those rights implies that the JSPA agreements are worthless, confirming that JCP specifications are nothing more than proprietary documentation.

I think there is little to add (I've reproduced verbatim). I do hope that Oracle take one last look at what is about to happen here and offer some form of meaningful compromise. It may be too late, but the impact of this is potentially serious.

This new statement appears to superceed the previous statement.

For the record, although I am an Apache member, I was not party to the specific decision making in either statement.

Stephen Colebourne
Apache Software Foundation member, speaking personally
Oracle Java Champion, speaking personally
Not a committer on Harmony or OpenJDK

Premium JVM thoughts & Open JVM proposal

Some thoughts on the Premium JVM and the benefits of freeing the JVM separate from Java SE.

Premium JVM

The JVM is a technology we sometimes forget to talk about, yet it is central to development on the Java platform. Like most other Java technologies, it has a JSR - #924

Clearly, all the other languages on the JVM - Fantom, Groovy, JRuby, Clojure, Scala ... - all rely on the JVM primarily. Each of them also rely on the Java libraries to some degree, but the JVM is their core, and many of them would like to only depend on the JVM in an ideal world.

At QCon San Francisco, it is reported that Adam Messinger announced in passing that there would be a premium version of the JVM alongside the gratis (free) version. This raises many questions:

• Will the premium and gratis version be released at the same time?
• Will gratis version still support the same range of operating systems?
• What extra features will the premium version have?
• Is this only management features?
• Or are there performance features?
• Who is the target market?

My concern is that once you have the split, there will be a product manager for the premium version. Their bottom line and job success will depend on moving people from gratis to paid. They will therefore lobby against adding to the gratis version and rachet up the cost of the paid version.

Logically, this is just an extension of the JRockit product and shouldn't be a threat. Lets hope that the answers to the above are suitable and provided soon so the community has reassurance.

Update 8th Nov: This Oracle press release from September 2010 indicates the underlying situation - that "premium" simply refers to a continuation of the JRockit paid for elements. I still hope that more detailed information can be provided.

Oracle is currently working to merge the Oracle Java HotSpot Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and the Oracle JRockit JVM into a converged offering that leverages the best features of each of these market-leading implementations. Oracle plans to contribute the results of the combined Oracle Java HotSpot and Oracle JRockit JVMs to the OpenJDK project. The Oracle JDK and Java Runtime Environment (JRE) will continue to be available as free downloads, with no changes to the existing licensing models. Premium offerings such as JRockit Mission Control, JRockit Real Time, Java for Business and Enterprise Support will continue to be made available for an additional charge.

Update 10th Nov: This further update from Oracle provides a public HTML summary of what was announced at JavaOne. I understand this should be considered to be the definitive word on the strategy, and effectively confirms that the "premium JVM" name is just the continuation of those parts of JRockit that were already paid for.

Open JVM

Since the recent news that Oracle will not allow Apache Harmony to complete as an implementation of Java SE, I've noticed a number of tweets and blogs questioning the whole JVM platform, not just Java.

There are now people considering moving to the .NET CLR or other platforms away from the JVM. This cannot be a good thing for Oracle!

As Oracle have stated, the community cannot have an open standard for the Java SE platform. If we accept that (and given the history and legalities we shouldn't) then what is the next best thing?

What if there was an open standard for the JVM?

The JSR exists - 924. All Oracle needs to do is allow it to be freely implemented, without Field Of Use or any other limitation, and independently of the rest of Java SE (which I don't believe is possible at the moment).

Update: I asked for clarification from Henrik Stahl of Oracle. He replied to me by email giving me permission to reproduce this here:

Stephen, You asked me if it was possible to implement a JVM without Java. I looked into it and there seems to be technical showstoppers. The JVM specification was clearly written with Java in mind. There are dependencies in the spec on java.* classes such as Object, ClassLoader and various exceptions. A JVM cannot be implemented according to the spec without these classes. So it's not possible for you to implement a JVM without *some* Java. And if you have *some* Java you probably have to implement *all* of Java, since subsets are discouraged due to fragmentation concerns. (Disclaimer: I'm no lawyer. This is my personal interpretation, and is not an official Oracle position.)"

I don't see this as threatening to Oracle in the same way as Java SE is (at least not threatening technically - politically its always hard to tell). The JVM is a simple input/output machine, theoretically easy to test for compatibility independent of the rest of Java SE (please contradict me in the comments if you have additional knowledge here).

Making this available has huge benefits: It is a good PR move, softening the tension in the Java community. It allows part of Apache Harmony to be released properly. It ensures true competition in JVM performance and additional features in the same way as Java EE has benefitted. It also removes any lingering concerns that the gratis/premium version of the JVM could be abused.

I've always thought that Sun missed a huge trick in not getting the JVM adopted as the heart of language programming in all browsers. Technically, Javascript could run on top of the JVM embedded within the browser. Sounds odd? Well not if the JVM were a freely implementable specification without restriction, capable of being extended, tweaked and integrated in different ways.

For example, a JVM could be written that is more modular, or slimline more suitable for different environments, such as one designed explicitly for a world where Javascript was the primary language it ran. Or a JVM could be implemented directly on top of the CLR or LLVM, or integrated within. Or a JVM could even implemented in another language like Ruby or Javascript rather than C (I remember seeing this once, so its technically possible!).

There is a huge set of opportunities here!

And for Oracle, that would mean embedding the JVM bytecode definition at the heart of many more areas. Which would reconfirm the JVM as the core technology today.

Hey, if browser vendors adopted it, we could write real code in the browser instead of pesky Javascript! Which would surely be a better technical solution than cross compiling JavaFX down to Javascript.

Summary

The premium JVM concept should just be JRockit continued. But, given recent actions by Oracle, there has to be concern that its the first move to charging for the "real" JVM. Clarification is needed. Update: see above

One way to turn the situation around would be to make the JVM freely implementable separate from Java SE. Apache Harmony would benefit, lessing tensions, but so would many other environments. A JVM implemented using the CLR or LLVM would be immensely useful. And maybe, just maybe, we could get to write real code in browsers on a multi-platform VM instead of Javascript.

Stephen Colebourne
Apache Software Foundation member, speaking personally
Oracle Java Champion, speaking personally
Not a committer on Harmony or OpenJDK

JCP election result & commentary

The JCP election are out. What do they tell us?

JCP election results 2010

The JCP election results are now available.

In the ratified seats (were Oracle chooses who stands), Apache was confirmed by 95% of voters and Red Hat by 87%. Hologic was not ratified, receiving only 33% yes votes. For ME, all three companies were ratified (although the web page indicates that TOTVS only got 49%, which if true means they should not have been ratified - something that needs clarification - Update: see Patrick Curran's comment for the valid explanation).

In the open elections (any JCP member can stand), Google (33%) and Eclipse (27%) were elected, with Bob Lee not elected in third (21%). For ME, Aplix (30%) and Stefano Andreani (27%) were elected. (Note that each voter received 2 votes for SE and ME in this phase, so its slightly unclear what the percentages mean. I'd assume that Google was supported by 66% of voters, but this isn't clear)

As Hologic was not ratified, Oracle will now nominate a new candidate for ratification. They could choose Bob Lee as the runner up in the open vote.

Turnout

One key issue not previously mentioned is turnout.

Of 1286 registered voters, only 18% actually voted - about 232 people/companies.

In 2007 turnout was 33%, in 2008 it was 26%, in 2009 it was 21%.

So, less than 250 people/companies (JCP members can be either) actually voted on the organisation that holds the power to decide the future of Java. With up to 10 million Java developers out there, this really is a tiny number. In fact, more people voted in the latest Java.net poll.

While I'm sure the legal paperwork of membership puts any off joining, the truth is that even those that had joined failed to vote. Of course we will never know why.

Commentary

These were controversial elections, partly because of the upcoming Java SE 7 vote, partly because the JCP was described as "no longer a credible specification and standards body" by Doug Lea and partly because I saw signs of Oracle sharp practice.

In the end, my interpretation of "stacking the election" was addressed by Adam Messinger of Oracle:

On the topic of Hologic, our feeling is that standards folks, technologists, and technology vendors are already well represented and there is room for some new opinions at the table. The fact is that a big part of Java's success is driven by thousands of developers at small and mid-size companies like Hologic. These developers, who are working squarely in the Microsoft sweet spot, are on the forefront of our competition with .NET. Hologic has bet their business on Java -- not as a supplier of Java, but as a consumer -- and we think having their perspective on the EC is valuable. They are absolutely representative of a large cross section of the Java community.

So, did I call Hologic right or wrong?

When I saw Hologic's name on the ratification ballot my first response was surprise. Then suspicion. Why had a company that no-one had heard of been put up to be one of the core guardians of Java SE, EE and the community?

Given the importance of the JCP vote to come, and the surrounding controversy, I wanted to know more. It wsn't hard to find the close relationship between Hologic and Oracle. And I called it as I saw it.

Adam's explanation in terms of broadening the JCP EC representation away from technology companies is sound enough. However I would have to ask what would make any one company, like Hologic, any more or less relevant than another? Ultimately, the electors agreed that Hologic should not be on the JCP EC, although we cannot know how much of that was due to the closeness to Oracle (that I pointed out) and how much was due to a general concern that they simply were an inappropriate company to be on the JCP EC.

The net effect of this is a sense that technology companies are better placed to provide the detailed technical direction needed for Java.

But that analysis also calls into question the role of Credit Suisse and individuals.

I think the difference with Credit Suisse is that they are a known company and are presumed to have a significant hard core Java operation (most banks push Java to the limit in places). And good individuals provide a key role in balancing the political nature of companies (which is why it was sad to see Doug Lea go and Bob Lee not to be elected).

For the future, it looks as though the Java SE 7 vote will pass. With the inability to get a valid testing suite for Apache Harmony finally confirmed, there may yet be further changes in the JCP. Fundamentally, it can reform (as per my #splitjcp compromise proposal or another similar proposal), or continue to be seen as irrelevant by many like me.

Either way, there needs to be more engagement of the wider community of developers beyond the apathetic JCP membership. If the most contested and discussed election in JCP history cannot increase the turnout, then maybe root and branch changes really are needed - and might in fact be welcomed.

Summary

Less than 250 JCP members (18% turnout) have made their choices, deciding the fate of Java. Apache, Red Hat, Google and Eclipse were elected. Hologic and Bob Lee were not.

Is this the best way to receive community feedback? Somehow it doesn't feel like it. Once again I'm encouraged to push for radical JCP reform.

Stephen Colebourne
Apache Software Foundation member, speaking personally
Oracle Java Champion, speaking personally
Not a committer on Harmony or OpenJDK

Four viewpoints of war

I wanted to summarise, comment on and respond to four recent blogs - Doug Lea, Henrik Stahl, Bill Burke and Mike Milinkovich.

Doug Lea

Doug Lea's resignation statement is in essence a pretty straightforward and clear piece summarising the problems with the JCP.

I believe that the JCP is no longer a credible specification and standards body, and there is no remaining useful role for an independent advocate for the academic and research community on the EC.

Some have argued that JCP was never a credible standards body. I once disagreed: Sun initially placed in the JSPA and Process documents enough rules to ensure that the JCP could foster innovation, quality, and diversity, independent of that from Sun, with few enough (albeit annoying) exceptions to allow JCP to drive consensual progress more successfully than seen in most standards bodies. However, some of these rules, and violations of rules, have been found to be the source of stalemates and lost technical ground. Rather than fixing rules or ceasing violations, Oracle now promises to simply disregard them. If they indeed act as they have promised, then the JCP can never again become more than an approval body for Oracle-backed initiatives. (Oracle's choice of timing submission of SE release JSRs forced me to decide not to stand for another term based only on those promises, not on the actual actions.) I urge other EC members to consider whether short term "pragmatism" in voting outweighs such consequences.

This is the statement from someone on the inside. Someone whose technical contribution everyone respects. He outlines that the JCP managed well for long enough, but no longer.

The key phrase is "Rather than fixing rules or ceasing violations, Oracle now promises to simply disregard them." This is a reference to Sun, then Oracle, deliberately breaking their legal agreement with Apache.

Not unreasonably, Doug makes an honourable decision to step down in the face of such actions. Instead, he is choosing to just focus on writing code at the OpenJDK instead, a decision we can all understand.

Henrik Stahl

Henrik is one of the key product managers in charge of Java SE. After a long gap without Oracle responding, Henrik replied.

I am sad to hear that he has decided to leave the JCP EC, and can only say that I hope that he will still continue to act as a leader in the community. People like Doug are needed to balance the priorities and interests of Oracle and other big corporations.

Doug and a few other members of the community such as Stephen Colbourne have made some very strong statements regarding the JCP. Needless to say, we don't agree with this bleak description of reality. We believe that the JCP is and remains a good organization for ushering the Java standards forward. We agree with the need of continually improving the JCP, and will work on that together with the EC. We also note that the EC contains a diverse set of companies and individuals, many of which are among Oracle's most fierce competitors. We believe that an open, vigorous and sometimes heated debate between conflicting interests and differing opinions is a necessary part of hammering out standards that serve the best interests of Java users, and we are confident that a vast majority of the EC members agree with us on this.

I agree with much of this funnily enough - people like Doug are needed, the JCP needs improvement, the JCP does contain Oracle's fiercest competitors and different opinions are needed. Where we disagree is whether the JCP remains a viable organisation when Oracle breaks the legal agreement on which the whole organisation is based.

Bill Burke, JBoss

Bill wrote a very interesting piece entited "The JCP is salvagable".

In the wake of Doug Lea leaving the JCP, I just want to say that I think the JCP is salvageable. This idea the JCP is an unworkable entity is plain and utter myth. A myth propagated by those that want to see it fail (i.e. SpringSource) or those that want to create their own, and controlled, specification efforts (IBM), or those that are more interested in doing their own thing than collaborating with others (i.e. Google and SpringSource).

Having read the title, I must admit that I was a little surprised at the content (only summarised above). What is interesting to me is the explicit attacks on other vendors, especially SpringSource (who JBoss have got it in for at the moment).

Perhaps there is an explanation? Could I suggest that JBoss's leading projects are implementations of JSRs in one form or another - from Seam to Hibernate to EJB? Would the end, or even a weakening, of the JCP represents a significant risk to their business? It would certainly require a new rhetoric and marketing speil!

Mike Milinkovich, Eclipse

Mike wrote a longish summary of his view of the current position.

My goodness, this past week has seen a flurry of despair around Java and the JCP. Most of it misguided, in my humble opinion. [snip]

Let me start by saying that like Red Hat’s Bill Burke, I believe that Java and the JCP are doing just fine and are here to stay. Despite some short-term growing pains, they are both in much better shape than they were under Sun’s stewardship over the past couple of years. In fact, I would go so far as to say that in terms of real, tangible progress, this past month has been the best for Java in the past three years.

Well thats positive! "Java and the JCP are doing just fine"!. The "best for Java in the past three years"! We have to read on to understand why he feels like this.

“The Great War of Java”: Stephen Colebourne’s most recent post is, well, just plain wrong. I totally understand the frustration and disappointment of the Apache community who have done so much for Java over the past decade or more. But the fact is that the “Great War of Java” didn’t happen, and it well could have. The announcement that IBM had made peace with Oracle and was joining OpenJDK meant that the fork that so many had predicted is not going to happen. I cannot say this strongly enough: characterizing the current status quo as a war is just wrong. What we may have on our hands is a failure to communicate, a major disappointment for Apache and/or a time of significant change in Java’s governance. But in my opinion the conflict that truly could have harmed Java has been averted.

Firstly, I want to emphasise that I see this issue as broader than the "Apache community" (of which I personally make precious few contributions to these days). And I'd point out that until a few days ago, Eclipse saw it as a broader issue worth fighting for too.

My reading of Mike's words is that he saw my "Great War of Java" post as solely being about the JCP. And re-reading, its possible to see why that might be.

But the "Great War" I refer to is the perfect storm of problems surrounding Java right now. The announcements from Apple and Nokia simply backing up the JCP disarray. This is absolutely a transformational time for Java.

War is generally about territory, and Java is losing territory left, right and centre. And I'm referring to mindshare as much as technology platforms.

Whereas Mike is referring to a war that didn't happen - the forced breakup of the JCP and a new fork (with IBM playing a key role no doubt). Clearly, Mike believes that scenario would have truly harmed Java.

Well, I hate to say it, but the fork happened a while ago - Android. And it remains by far the most exciting and interesting part of the broader Java ecosystem, and the only place where consumer oriented Java on the "desktop" remains relevant.

Doug Lea’s departure from the JCP EC: Doug has been a very important voice on the JCP Executive Committee since long before we got there. He understands the process deeply and cares about how players other than the large corporations can participate, contribute and innovate within the Java ecosystem. He will be missed. However, I do think that his reasons for resigning were based on some incorrect assumptions.

I believe that many people are confusing the JCP’s vendor neutrality with its effectiveness as a specifications organization. The JCP has never and will never be a vendor-neutral organization (a la Apache and Eclipse), and anyone who thought it so was fooling themselves. But it has been effective, and I believe that it will be effective again. That’s why if re-elected, Eclipse will be voting for the Java 7 JSR. We need to get back to actually getting platform specs through the process if Java is going to advance.

As a truly vendor-neutral organization, we at Eclipse understand the value that brings to the community and the commercial ecosystem. Unfortunately, I believe that OpenJDK’s governance will, in the end, be no more vendor-neutral than the JCP’s. It simply cannot be. Oracle has a responsibility to its commercial Java licensors to deliver them intellectual property under commercial terms and conditions, which is why contributors need to sign the CLA. By definition, if Oracle needs to own the IP for Java, including the IP in OpenJDK, the governance model will always require some sort of special role for Oracle. I wish it could be otherwise, but that is how I see the situation.

But the key point is that in neither case (JCP or OpenJDK) does the lack of vendor neutrality mean that the organizations are ineffective. Both have already demonstrated success in pulling together many competing interests and getting innovative work completed. So the lack of vendor neutrality is not fatal. In fact, I am optimistic that having both an open standards and an open source organization working in collaboration will help accelerate innovation in the Java platform.

On "the JCP has never and will never be a vendor-neutral organization", I both agree and disagree. EE and ME specifications have no need to be controlled by Oracle. Other standards groups do not have such a single vendor dominance, and that neutrality is beneficial. Whereas, in the core, Oracle truly does put in all the funds and guides the platform. Having a single vendor control, with external input, is probably a better model. Just like Linux. Therefore, on "I believe that OpenJDK’s governance will, in the end, be no more vendor-neutral than the JCP’s", I agree.

I agree that the JCP has been effective. But I see no way to make it effective again without radical change. Right now, I'm far from alone in trusting a so-called proprietary API from Spring or Google than a JSR API.

But the kicker is at the end. "In fact, I am optimistic that having both an open standards and an open source organization working in collaboration will help accelerate innovation in the Java platform."

How can it be an "open standard" if you can't implement it?

This is the key issue. Despite legal agreements and public promises, it is impossible to implement a supposedly open standard. Mike, how can you justify that?

I've only been able to come up with one solution - the #splitjcp compromise proposal. By clearly removing those parts that are blatently not open standards from the JCP, it enables everyone to move on and start afresh with those standards that are.

Legal agreements

Sun, now Oracle have broken their word, their public promises and their signed legal agreements.

I remain stunned that anyone would want to do business with Oracle without some change in the rules.

After all, if your boss gave you their word to you to pay you salary $x, made a public pledge to the rest of their team that they had hired you, and signed a written contract with you stating the salary, wouldn't you feel extremely aggrieved if three years later you'd never been paid despite asking many times? And what if your boss then turned around and told you that you never will be paid? Would you ever trust a word your boss said ever again?

By the way, have you noticed that no-one is trying to claim that the legal agreements have not been broken?

Summary

Ultimately, the big companies and organisations are closing rank around Oracle. They've decided that it doesn't matter that the legal agreements they've signed aren't worth the paper they're written on or that Oracle can't be trusted. (Or perhaps they naively believe that Oracle only breaks legal agreements with Not-For-Profits.)

But, many of us in the wider community know that what has happened here stinks and have no reason whatsoever to trust a single word from Oracle.

Stephen Colebourne
Apache Software Foundation member, speaking personally
Oracle Java Champion, speaking personally
Not a committer on Harmony or OpenJDK