Open-source Java under the GPL

We've known for a long time that Java would go open source. The question was which open-source license it would use. In the second half of last week there was speculation that it might be the GPL. The rumors have been confirmed, and today Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz and Rich Green will announce the release of key parts of Java under version 2 of the GPL (Czech translation of the GPL, PDF).

The first batch, due out under the GPL today, includes the HotSpot runtime, the javac compiler, JavaHelp and Sun's Java ME implementation. The “rest” of Java will be released in the first half of 2007. The GPL license Sun chose will include a Classpath Exception, so you can use the core Java libraries without having to release your own code as open source.

The GPL should protect Java from splitting into forks while letting the community access the source code and port or modify it as needed. Some sources say Sun will offer dual licensing, which would allow a certified commercial version of Java to continue to exist in parallel, as it has until now.

IBM had been pressing for Java to become open source for some time. Significant communities of developers and commercial customers joined the calls for the same thing. I'd like to mention a few important developer communities. It may surprise you that the Brazilian community, with 18,000 developers, carries a lot of weight with Sun, for instance.

Java is very popular in Brazil, and several of the country's public-sector information systems are built on it, including a system for keeping health care records. It's hardly surprising that this community, for one, stepped up its calls to open-source Java. Brazil is probably no exception. Other countries adopting open source in government would sooner or later have to consider the question of open-source Java too.

Open-source Java will surely come up at the upcoming Sun Tech Days in Prague, which gives you another reason to come. We'll also devote some time to it in a future podcast. Will making Java open source affect you, for better or worse?

Sources

• ZDnet Sun picks GPL license for Java code
• TheServerSide Sun relicenses Java under GPL
• JavaLobby Sun Releases GPL Java Today