BEA Systems will jump into the debate over whether Java
should be made open source and comments from one of its senior
executives suggest the application server supplier is leaning in
favour of the move.
IBM raised the issue in February when it sent a public letter to
Sun encouraging it to make Java open source.
It argued that the move would expand the technology's reach and
lead to more innovation. Sun has been cautiously open to the idea
but has said lots of issues need to be ironed out first.
BEA, which along with IBM makes one of the two most popular Java
application servers, has yet to state a position either way. But in
a speech at JavaOne this week, chief technology officer Scott
Dietzen will reveal BEA's thinking on the matter.
Dietzen was reluctant to reveal BEA's stance ahead of his
speech, but he seemed to indicate that BEA is in favour of making
Java open source and that he will present BEA's proposal for how it
should be done.
"Rather than declare our intent now, I would say that I've not
seen any concrete proposals yet from IBM or Sun on the details of
how to open source Java. I think that's part of the problem. There
are some complex issues that need to be resolved," Dietzen
said.
One issue is which parts of Java should be made open source, he
said. The other has to do with what he called "compliance", or the
need to ensure an open-source Java would not splinter into
incompatible versions. Sun executives have raised similar
concerns.
"The thing people most like in the Java community is the
consistency across platforms. If open-sourcing would cause a
fragmentation, that wouldn't be a good thing for any Java supplier.
So how do you allow open source, which allows lots of [developers]
to go off and randomly innovate - how do you marry that to
convergence," he said.
One developer at the show was doubtful that Java would splinter
under an open-source model. Developers generally appreciate the
compatibility across Java products and would be unlikely to
compromise it, said Keith Sibson, senior software developer at
NetSpend which provides prepaid credit cards.
The open-source model has merits, he said, including faster
turnaround times for bug fixes. On the other hand, he said,
proprietary products sometimes have fewer bugs to fix in the first
place, adding that he did not care greatly one way the other
whether Java is made open source.
James Niccolai writes for IDG News Service