Sun is misusing the GPL for Java: Part 2

Slashdot | Sun Lowers Barriers to Open-Source Java

Now for Part 2.

Last time I ran down what I see as the differences between the FSF and the ASF's handling of their communities as expressed in their respective licenses and practices. I feel they start from very similar places yet wind up in ones that, in a purely practical sense, function differently, even to the point of not being able to collaborate. This is a shame, but both groups have sound reasons for doing things their way. It makes it hard on those of us who want to participate in both, however.

When Sun announced the release of Java under the GPL, I was naturally delighted. Finally a free software system could include Java, finally the gray cloud hanging over Java developers with a conscience could finally dissolve, finally we could inspect (and even fix) core Java classes without fear of taint or lawsuit, etc. It was a good day all around.

Until the news dropped recently that Sun was changing the license terms of the Java Compatibility Kit (JCK). This was expected since the previous terms of the JCK's license conflicted with the GPL, but Sun went a step further and declared that only Java implementations "substantially based" on Sun's GPL implementation would get access to the JCK. This is a good thing, since people who patch Java can still get it certified as Java, including ports to different platforms and architectures, but it is also a big middle finger to all existing Java implementations, especially Harmony and Classpath. (Also, several projects trying to offer a free software JVM, like Kaffe and Japhar, are also affected.) Sun has effectively delegitimized these other efforts, saying, "They're not Java, they never were Java, and they never will be. There is only one place to get real Java, and it's from us."

The most important thing about Java in Sun's eyes has always been control: control of its brand, control of its implementation, and control of its uses. Java has never been nearly as open as some people would have you believe: the first version was licensed in frankly despicable terms, turning off a lot of interested developers who were willing to look past the ubiquitous and insipid hype. It's also easy to forget that for several years, Java was crippled by poor performance and buggy internals. Microsoft's JVM was preferred not because it was included in the OS (applets were already a dud) but because it was faster and more stable than the official. Naturally Microsoft sought to embrace and extend Java into something they could control, and of course Sun fought back and eventually won, but the damage to Java's reputation had been done. The development and later uptake of C# is significant also because it offered something developers needed: a Java that performed very well that hooked deeply into Windows.

Finally, Sun's obsessive compulsion to control all things Java retarded its development. Sun doesn't have the resources to push Java along nearly as effectively as a group of interested developers passionate about the technology. If Java had been GPLed in, say, 1997, it would be very different from what it is now. I'm not sure it would be the same thing at all, but I am sure it would be a better thing. With developer interest, a free software license, and tons of time to research and experiment, we could have things like a real native code compiler, streamlined and less bloated VMs, tighter class libraries, and a myriad of other pipe dreams we're probably never going to get now. The determination to do new language features like generics while preserving very strict backward compatibility guarantees has resulted in a clunky and difficult development environment; if the technology were under the control of a group that tried to do what was best for the technology instead of what was best for the interests of a tiny minority of its users, there would be at least a fighting chance to avoid a situation like this.

Sun has found a way to control Java by ostensibly setting it free, and they're doing it by using the GPL as a club. The GPL's copyleft was designed to preserve the Four Freedoms after the software left the hands of the original developer. Sun has turned it into a weapon against people who can't or won't develop Java according to their rules. They plan to "open" the Java community not by joining with the existing ones but by creating a new one and marginalizing every other existing one.

When I say "misusing the GPL", I mean that Sun is going against the spirit of it, not the letter of it. Sun has every right to take this action, and as a member of the FSF it's hard to find fault with it -- it's what I've wanted for years. But in my time in the ASF, I've come to appreciate the work they've done, and they have a legitimate beef with Sun over their conduct in the JCP and by talking out of both sides of their mouth with respect to the ASF's access to other TCKs. (See Geir's letter for more.) This, apparently, is Sun's response.

While the new Java may be a GPL world, there is reason to wonder why anyone at the ASF should spend further time working on Java. Sun has left them for good, and pending a licensing resolution with the existing Java code, it will be more difficult to construct a system with Sun and ASF code from now on. At the same time, Classpath stands to benefit hugely from this, again at Harmony's expense; fixing Classpath and Sun Java is very easy while fixing Harmony is that much harder.

I'll have to think about what this means for ASF.