Sun Looks To GPL3 For Java, Solaris 164
daria42 writes "Sun is leaning toward changing the license for Java and Solaris to the GNU GPL version 3. The article has some insightful comments from Sun boss Jonathan Schwartz. '"Will we GPL Solaris? We want to ensure we can interact with the GPL community and the Mozilla community and the BSD community," he says.'"
Huh? (Score:3, Insightful)
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You know why businesses win war with Linux? It's not that they have the brightest people around, FOSS has also, they just choose people with some INTERPERSONAL skills so they don't fight all the time.
This stupid license wars is slowing Linux and FOSS community and serves NO FUCKING PURPOSE!
The same is about 1 million Linux distros that are sometimes TOTALLY not interop
Re:Huh? (Score:5, Insightful)
You are completely wrong. License is a key feature of FOSS, and provides the developer which is the freedom of her work
roughly, IMHO,
BSD: the world has the freedom to do whatever: companies like it- not only to use the code but to provide FOSS modules as well!
GPL: the user won't loose the freedom to keep using the work made by the programmer.
Which is better? depends strongly on the programmers intention about the software she is releasing. She has put a lot of effort on that, so she may have an opinion of which is the allowed use of her code.
Saying it is stupid, is selfish as you seem to be thinking only in the present day with the present apps, which seem you have not developed, have you?
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Um, no. The work made by the programmer will be available to the user no matter whether the license is BSD or GPL, or many others. Once a version of some code is released open source, it will be there forever.
The difference between the GPL and BSD is that the GPL ensures that any improvements to the code will be given back to the community. This makes it more restrictive and businesses cannot add code to a GPL'd app tha
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Sure, but I was thinking about 3rd party derivatives (as you point in your post). Sorry, since I have not said it explicitly (I only used the future sense in my post).
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GPL and BSD code are totally free to use.
BSD is free to redistribute, no problems (well, you should have a copyright notice) - Microsoft used in Windows 2000 a network stack (TCP/IP) derived from the BSD stack.
GPL is not free to redistribute - unlike BSD, anything containing even a small part of GPL code MUST be redistributed with
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The difference between the GPL and BSD is that the GPL ensures that any improvements to the code will be given back to the community.
Basically, the BSDL is about what you want to happen with *your* code. The GPL is what you want to happen with *other people's* code.
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Interesting point (Score:5, Interesting)
Well, I've since found one good use for BSD-like licenses. They're good for situations where what you care about the most is that people are using your code. For example, I think some of the Vorbis code was released under BSD so that companies producing proprietary software would add Vorbis support, hopefully leading to widespread adoption of Vorbis.
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Two bad examples are the BSD network stack and giflib (MIT Licence).
Both are now in Microsoft Windows with nothing more than a credit line to the original developers buried somewhere.
Personally all my code will be GPLed.
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It plays all sorts of formats.
I have been working on it for a long time.
It really is very good, and a lot of people are going to use it.
I have no
Re:Interesting point (Score:5, Insightful)
So what? Given that a network stack is a fundamental part of a modern operating system, and that poorly written, incompatible and vulnerable network stacks would degrade the entire network for everyone on it, surely it's better that MS used a tried and tested stack rather than going it alone and producing a buggy, not quite compatible version of their own?
Besides which, it was clearly the intention of the authors in using the licence that it could be used in closed-source products, and MS are complying with the letter and the spirit of the licence; "use it as you see fit, just credit us".
Re:Interesting point (Score:4, Interesting)
If business pays for code they buy it from community for their own use, thus code will be released from GPL and free for their use. That would mean licensed for their use. And cash can be used, for example, to pay developers for creating things dull and boring like Exchange connectors (damn important for businesses) and such.
Just an idea, what do you think?
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Why should I write code for them, if it's not for a cause that's more noble than having a open "hobby license" while depriving me of using that code in my workplace? Why would my company allow me to fix code that they have to then pay to use in their products?
Since most of the open source / GPL licensed code comes from corporate backed programmers (thank you very much RedHat), I think it's biting the hand that feeds
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You can allow your company to use it under a separate licence.
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Best option, IMHO, would be to use GPL with pay-for-business-use clause.
You can't, because the freedom to use for any purpose is one of the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the GPL, and in fact all free and open-source software licenses, pretty much by definition.
You can charge for rights to distribute outside the terms of the GPL, for instance by incorporating into a proprietary software package.
You also can charge for use of trademarks, or, as in the case of Java, require conformance with various t
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Both are now in Microsoft Windows with nothing more than a credit line to the original developers buried somewhere.
You say this like it's a bad thing, why ? It is _precisely_ what the developers intended when they released their code under the BSDL.
Incidentally, the last release of Windows to have a BSD-derived TCP/IP stack was NT4, way back in 1996 - and the only reason it had a BSD-derived stack was because the company Microsoft bought it from had based it on the BSD reference code (just like pretty m
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Thank god Linux invented its stack from complete scratch and didn't use a lick of BSD code, eh?
It's not the zealots that get to me. Just the ignorant ones.
Re:Interesting point (Score:4, Informative)
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If you link other code with the library, you must provide complete object files to the recipients, so that they can relink them with the library after making changes to the library and recompiling it.
Most closed source shops aren't willing (or able) to provide object files. This has pushed many libraries that want wide spread adoption to less restrictive licenses. Or it requires the LGPL'd portion to be a dynamic library instead of a static
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The biggest problem I find with the BSD license is that derivative works covered under it can end up being rendered non-free.
For example, say a person puts software X under the BSD license, and then some other person comes along, makes a few changes and additions (perhaps adding in a whiz-bang feature or two, but leaving most of the other code intact), decides to make his derivative work closed-source, and also decides to limit people's freedoms on the work so that they can't further pass on the program
BSD license equals EEE license (Score:2)
Re:Huh? (Score:4, Insightful)
You may think it is the fscking truth, but what you say denotes a complete lack of understanding of the reasons for which FOSS people code. Choosing the license which better represents the programmer will is IMPORTANT. Otherwise we would all put our code in the public domain, which most of us do NOT want.
License WARS serve no purpose, I agree, but you will likely not see "one license to bind them all".
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I like the BSD licence because it allows commercial organisations to use my work if they want to.
There's bits of my code in every recent Linux and Solaris release that I've look at, BTW, which saves me porting the code B^>.
The developer should be free to chose the licence model that they prefer. It's their work.
Rgds
Damon
Re:Huh? (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm a huge fan of the BSD license. Nothing says freedom like lack of restrictions.
But lately, I've begun to see the draw of the GPL license. I've never had an issue with the LGPL, as it does what I think the GPL should: It makes certain that code improvements are returned to the community. The GPL tries to make additional code belong to the community, too, though.
So you cannot kill this 'license war' without killing the FOSS community, too. They're the same thing.
If it makes you feel better, you can think of them as GPL and BSD communities instead of a single FOSS community.
You shouldn't lose karma for a different opinion (Score:2)
You lose karma because people believe you are wrong.
You really shouldn't lose karma just because you have a different opinion. Karma loss should ideally be attributed to posts that abuse the forum system---nothing else. Instead, what is often seen here on slashdot (and other places) is moderation abuse where posts are moderated down just because a moderator disagreed with the post. This widespread moderation abuse is blatant disrespect for a civilized debate or conversation, and should not be accepted by anyone. We all suffer because of it.
Re:You shouldn't lose karma for a different opinio (Score:2)
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License as Constitution (Score:2)
I have a lot of sympathy with your complaint. But licenses are essential for the governance and coordination needed for open source contributors to work together. We can't (for the most part) command through hierarchies or provide financial incentives. The license represents the common ground or consensus achieved by constributors; without it, they would be unl
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What a load of FUD (Score:2)
It makes sense for Free Software developers to want the patent clauses in GPLv3. Who would want to get sued for patent infringement and then still allow the company that sued them to use software that they sued over in the first plac
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When I say "the same license as the majority", I'm counting every Free Software project that uses
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One thing you seem to be missing is that GPLv3 is intended as a replacement for GPLv2, not a competing license. GPLv2 was meant to be a Free Software license that would ensure Free Software thrived. It worked, but with software patent lawsuits becoming more common as well as hardware that can only run "signed" programs also becoming more common, GPLv2 is
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As a developer myself I'd explicitly reject any patch that someone tried to put in under GPLv3 - some of the restrictions are ludicrous (in particular the restriction that stops you modifying network protocols would have meant the project
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Can you quote the clause in GPLv3 that "stops you modifying network protocols"? It sounds to me like you're a victim of GPLv3-FUD.
Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
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Every last modification they have made to the kernel is available for download under the terms of the GPL. You are perfectly free to run that code under any other hardware you wish. TiVo has never operated under the pretense that the GPL applies to their hardware.
He's full of shit, and not for the first time.
Linus is quite often full of shit, but I can respect the fact that he gets shit done. How's the HURD coming along?
TiVo cut off access to hardware, not software (Score:2)
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the whole bloody GPL is a political statement, what's one more restriction? As someone pointed out earlier, "BSD, Mozilla, and CDDL are when you want your code to be free. GPL is when you want everyone's code to be free". Precisely what the FSF stands for
That's a reasonable choice (Score:5, Interesting)
Well thay are a hardware shop... (Score:2)
Should OpenSolaris be dual licensed via CDD (Score:5, Interesting)
Topic: Should OpenSolaris be dual licensed via CDDL and GPLv3
http://www.opensolaris.org/jive/thread.jspa?threa
http://lwn.net/Articles/221543/ [lwn.net]
Not too long ago.... (Score:5, Interesting)
Be careful what you wish for...
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His reply was: "Sure, write your own kernel, license it how you want it, and see how many people use it."
We're in a unique and very cool situation now, which is that we have (or will have, very soon) many different choices of open-source kernels:
So now people who want to do kernel hacking can choose to work on a system with the license that best fits their vision of freedom. They get to choose from anywhere along t
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3. Opensolaris, under CDDL.
But anyway...
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That really depends on whether or not you believe that NT offers any compelling advantages over Linux. If you do, then it may well be worth your while investing in developing it in order to keep those advantages. It also assumes that the cost to port Windows to Linux (or Linux to Windows) would be more than offset by the savings on dropping support for NT. It also assumes that the legal issues are straightforward and
Put the tin foil hat away. (Score:2)
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I am not a lawyer, but as I understand it the DRM clause is just meant to take any covered software out of the legal definition of "technical protection measure" and therefore out from under the heinous anticircumvention clause.
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GPL already does that without any help of the DRM restrictions.
Personally, I like the software freedom bits of Mozilla ( use my code, share it ), it lacks the viral properties of the GPL ( use my code, share yours too ), and the "free-for-all" of the BSD ( use my code... period )
just curious... (a bit off topic) (Score:1)
Mac OSX tiger has most GNU software - gcc g++ emacs make wget nano.. etc. Does that make it a GNU distribution with mach microkernel?
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The way you put it: no. gcc, emacs, nano, wget also run under windows. It's the usage of the GNU-tools for the basic system functionality that makes a system a GNU-system.
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with Microsoft Windows, and I install
Bzzzzt. Thanks for playing. OS: Windows. GNU coreutils, not in box.
Got it?
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Has this any implications for the Linux kernel? (Score:5, Interesting)
But then... if Sun go for GPLv3, I'm not certain that can coexist within the same kernel as a bunch of GPLv2 code.
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Well, based on TFA, that won't happen:
And indeed, since Linux will stay GPL2, it can't
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It would be interesting to know how much of that code was stuff that could actually be used in Solaris. It's not going to be very useful if you've got 1000 lines of C code in foo.c, of which 682 lines are "GPL v. 2 or later," and the other 318 are "GPL v. 2." I would imagine that the biggest thing Solaris would have to gain from Linux would be
Java as a first class citzen on FOSS Desktops (Score:5, Insightful)
Now that Java is OpenSource, and that it has bindings to both GTK (as in SWT) and QT (as in Jambi), will we see it on more desktop applications? I'm asking because I feel that Java is a better choice than C#, because of its extensive libraries and frameworks.
Also, Java is already a major player on the server side, if KDE and Gnome had a better integration with it than Windows... it would be a major push for the adoption of a FOSS Desktop...
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The ONLY thing required is that one of the mainstream distros begins to include it by default. I am predicting it would be Fedora or Ubuntu. Then it might change the whole way things work, and yeah, I am talking about the whole you-got-to-compile-software jazz. It scares away normal users, and packages taking ages to get to a new version make users unable to ge
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Actually I enjoy Java quite a bit. Things like SpringFramework, WebWork and Hibernate take a lot of weight from the developer's back, and are very flexible... Java has a really nice environment for Web development.
Swing on the other hand is a major PITA. But with Java now under a GPL licence, I'm expecting to see more and more native bindings to commom GUI toolkits.
Not to mention that with full access to the Sun libraries, gcj will probably do a much better job at compiling Java to native code!
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If you remove that bar to entry, it makes Java much more palatable.
BTW, low bar to entry is one of the reasons JavaScript is such a way cooler language than a
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Yeah,
That's why I think Java WebStart is a underused feature... As arcane as SWING might be, I find it much more sane than the equivalent complex AJAX code.
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I was going to respond to your post with my Java(TM) capable browser. I waited a minute or so for it to start, but the web page was too big and it ran out of memory. So I went and dug out the shortcut and restarted the VM with -Xmx256m of memory. While it was starting up, I fired up Notepad and composed the text into it. Sure enough, this time the page loaded up after a minute or two, so I went to cut and paste it out of Notep
My user concerns (Score:3, Insightful)
GPL2 vs GPL3 (Score:2)
The FreeBSD license is a free software license (Score:2)
Free Software is a subset of Open Source Software.
What is the difference? I looked at the Debian Free Software Guidelines [debian.org] and the OSI's Open Source Definition [opensource.org], and they're nearly identical. (In fact, the OSD was derived from the DFSG.) What notable software has a license that meets the OSD but not the DFSG or the FSF's Free Software Definition [gnu.org]?
The FreeBSD kernel is OSS but not Free.
The BSD licenses, including the old ad-clause BSD license [gnu.org], are non-copyleft free software licenses. The FreeBSD license [gnu.org] is a non-copyleft free software license compatible with the GNU GPL.
One of the things to do... (Score:3, Interesting)
The Linux kernel as a whole is indeed copyright by many people, some of whom are not keen on GPLv3, but what is critical for Solaris is not the WHOLE kernel but the parts which are in fact better than Solaris. The obvious ones are drivers and file system support, but I imagine there are others as well. The point, however, is that Solaris doesn't NEED all of the Linux kernel code. They could only benefit from a few key parts, and the authors of those parts might be convinced to see things differently than Linus and company.
If I were Sun, what I would be doing is a) waiting for the final GPLv3 while being very active in the process of developing the license b) quietly contacting key individual authors of parts of the Linux kernel that would benefit Solaris, sounding out their attitude to see how much code would be available if they did make the switch, and c) putting an in-house team on a Linux vs. Solaris evaluation to determine the major lacks of Solaris and how they might be addressed internally, assuming no Linux code will be usable.
The Free Software Foundation's support is not necessarily a guarantee of OS kernel success (*cough*HURD*cough*) but if all FSF code goes GPLv3 and Solaris follows suit being the new favorite development platform of the GNU toolchain will have to have some benefits.
I'd say the biggest key for Solaris is "what can GPLv3 do for me?" And the biggest immediate factor there is how many of the current Linux kernel authors with desirable code would be willing to consider accommodating Sun by releasing under GPLv3. If they won't, then the question becomes how many new developers could they attract, and that's a much harder question to answer.
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http://6thsenseless.blogspot.com/2007/02/how-much
Will harm mobile developers (Score:2)
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GPLv3 makes sense for Java, not for Solaris (Score:2)
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Novell (Score:2)
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v2/v3 incompatibility? (Score:2)
Is there any evidence that GPLv3 and GPLv2 licenses are going to be incompatible with one another? I don't see any reason why they should be. In the worst case, GPLv3 might contain an exception, or Sun could easily choose a GPLv3 licenses with a v2 exception.
open source license, not open source project (Score:2)
What are the consequences? First of all, they have a special commercial interest in the codebase, they have an interest in making sure that others can't use the codebase commercially, and they can set the future direction for Java in ways that's in accordance with their
McNealy (Score:2)
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Solaris kernel+GNU (Score:2)
What an amazing vision of the future^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hlast October [wikipedia.org].
Dear Sun (Score:2)
More seriously, I wish people in general would stop trying to curry favour with the FSF and the associated cultists. Apart from anything else, it causes the FSF and said supporting cultists to continue to hold the unfortunate delusion that they're actually important, when the reality is that people generally do it merely in order t
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You're clearly very delusional. Take very much medication, ok?
Death of Blu-Ray? (Score:2)
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Who cares. Whatever it is, it is a very good thing.
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Free Software Isn't As Important As You Think (Score:2)
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This is probably because often, you just want to make a small change in a program to make it solve the problem at hand. With Free Software, this is relatively easy. With proprietary software, you need to convince the supplier to do it (and maybe you can have the result next year) or you may need to write a completely new program from scratch to solve it. Developers prefer being able to fix the software the right way. Note that this is als
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I sort of liked Windows 2000. It was the first time Windows really seemed to work and it looked fine to me. I only used XP for a little while before going GNU/Linux full time, but I can certainly think of worse OS to be compared to than Win 2K.
Of course I see complaints like that on Slashdot all the ti
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Actually, I see the potential differently. Consider ---
For years the GNU folks have tried to point out that Linux is just a kernel and the system should be referred to as GNU/Linux. They've been largely unsuccessful because there is no alternative (GNU/Hurd isn't really there).
Now along comes Sun offering the Solaris kernel which would allow for GNU/Solaris.
Add to this that the SCO lawsuit was based on IBM contributing code to the Linux kernel (though they probably tried to include samples from G
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