Sun Microsystems Open-Sources Java Under GNU General Public License, Version 2

By Mae Kowalke

TMCnet Associate Editor

 

Sun Microsystems (News - Alert) today made all three major implementations of its Java software platform available as open source, under the GNU General Public License, Version 2 (GPLv2).

 

The three implementations are:

In its announcement, Sun said that this move means the company “is now the biggest contributor to the open-source community.” It previously made other products open source, including Solaris OS, OpenOffice, and Java EE.

 

The company said it plans to open all of its middleware using GPLv2. Sun added that its open sourcing initiative is intended to fuel innovation, drive evolution of the Java platform, allow Java developers worldwide to make better use of platform enhancements, and to speed up time-to-market for new Java applications.

 

An Associated Press report today referred to Sun as “a formerly high-flying dot-com that has lost billions of dollars since the stock market collapse of 2000,” adding that a key element of the company’s rebound strategy is affiliation with the open source movement.

 

“Sun believes Java technology has reached the right level of maturity, adoption, and innovation—with widespread use across enterprises and devices—to move into the next stage of its evolution,” the company said in its announcement. “In the largest single contribution under the GNU GPL, Sun is releasing all of its key Java implementations under this widely respected free-software license.”

 

GNU GPL also is used for the Linux operating system, AP noted.

 

“The open-sourcing of this really means more -- more richness of offerings, more capability, more applications that consumers will get to use,” the AP report quoted Rich Green, Executive Vice President of Software at Sun, as saying. “The platform itself will become a place for innovation.”

 

Every last drop of Java should be available as open source by March, 2007, the company said.

 

As this article was being published, Sun Microsystem stocks were trading on the NASDAQ for about $5.31, up roughly four cents, or 0.76 percent, from Friday closing of $5.27.