| Sun heats up open-source ties |
May 16, 2006
Sun Microsystems will unveil several major open-source initiatives during its annual JavaOne conference May 16-19, following moves in recent years toward open-sourcing its Solaris OS and multicore UltraSPARC T1 CPU. New initiatives include a Linux-friendly Java license aimed at community distributions, and formal relationships with the Ubuntu and Debian projects.
At its annual Java love-in in San Francisco, Sun will debut the System Distributor's License for Java (aka "Distro License for Java" or "DLJ"), according to sources within Sun who requested anonymity. In addition, Sun will announce new reciprocal agreements with the Ubuntu and Debian Linux projects, and possibly other community Linux projects, to distribute the JDK (Java Development Kit) and Java Runtime Environment (JRE) virtually unencumbered with their distributions. Sun's new CEO, Jonathan Schwartz, will introduce the new Linux partners during his JavaOne keynote talk on May 16, the sources said.
As part of the licensing deals with the Debian and Debian-based Ubuntu projects, Sun will include both Linux distributions as choices within its enterprise catalog. It also will work closely with Ubuntu's UK-based parent company, Canonical, which, in turn, will provide service and support for the distribution as it runs on Sun hardware, the sources added.
Sun already had partnerships with enterprise Linux companies Novell (for SUSE Linux) and Red Hat.
"This will have a more profound impact in the developer community than in the enterprise marketplace," Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth told DesktopLinux.com. "The enterprise marketplace already has pervasive access to Java, while the traditional license terms have prevented the free software community from integrating Java too closely into the base operating system."
"This is the most substantial step we've seen yet towards building a stronger relationship between the Java world and the free software world," Shuttleworth continued. "It's clearly a move in recognition of the importance to Sun of the work of the free software community, and will go some way towards increasing the adoption of Java by free software projects."
"The new Java license enables us to make it much easier for Ubuntu users to access Java functionality out of the box. Java is one step closer to being a pervasive part of the modern desktop environment," Shuttleworth added.
UK-based Ubuntu, which debuted in November 2004, has seen rapid, widespread acceptance. The popular, user-friendly Linux desktop will introduce an enterprise server version June 1, Shuttleworth said.
Several open source-based projects will also begin using the new license immediately, Sun sources said.
Sun open source evangelist Simon Phipps said, "Sun is listening to the community: This has been a longstanding request from Java developers in blogs, forums, bug reports and RFEs. Sun developed the DLJ in consultation with several Linux distributions to address the concerns of the Linux community. These agreements open the gates to the Java ecosystem as it has never been available before. The old barriers left over from previous licensing are now gone."
The DLJ will enable open-source communities to define the packaging, installation and support for the JDK within their distributions while maintaining Java's "write once, run anywhere" compatibility promise, Sun sources said.
A new community JDK Distros Project on Java.net will serve as a clearinghouse of information and best practices for delivering compatibly packaged JDK bundles on Linux and OpenSolaris. In particular, the Blackdown Project (a project that provides Sun's Java environment to several distributions) has indicated that it will join the JDK Distros Project and contribute its Debian packaging code to the initiative.
Fitting within Debian's "Free Software Guidelines"
Not all Debian advocates are convinced this new arrangment with Sun is in the distro's best interests.
"I'm really dubious that Debian will endorse a Java license that does not comply with the Debian Free Software Guidelines (under "social contract" on their web site)," longtime open source advocate and former Debian project leader Bruce Perens told DesktopLinux.com via email. "If the Debian project leader did this, his developers would kick his butt. They're in the Free Software business, not the distributable-but-modification-restricted business. If Blackdown is endorsing this, they aren't doing so on behalf of Debian -- just themselves."
Debian project leader Anthony Towns responded in an email, saying: "Bruce is mostly correct here; Debian is focused on free software, and we will continue supporting free implementations of Java in preference to those that don't satisfy our free software guidelines (which formed the basis of the open source definition)."
"If Sun does allow GNU/Linux distributors such as Debian to ship their JDK and/or JRE despite not releasing it as free software, we will be happy to take advantage of this as part of our commitment to our users and ensuring they have access to all the software they need, even if it doesn't satisfy our expectations on freedom -- indeed, we have a separate component to our archive for precisely this purpose, and this philosophy forms part of our social contract," he added.
Towns said that he's "not in a position to comment on Sun's motivations or corporate strategy; but my view is that every increase in software freedom is to be valued and supported. We're in this for the long term, and I hope that we'll be able to work with Sun to ensure that their experience with releasing OpenSolaris under a free license, and whatever steps they may take to make Java more open form the basis for a good ongoing relationship with both Debian and the broader free software community."
(Click to enlarge) |
Sun-powered Freedom Toasters
On another open-source JavaOne front, Sun said it is donating three Sun Ultra 20 workstations powered by AMD Opteron processors to be loaded into Freedom Toaster kiosks in Khayelitsha and other townships in South Africa.
The Freedom Toaster is described on its website as a conveniently located, self-contained "bring 'n burn" facility, where users bring their own blank discs and make copies of the open-source software they require. The project aims to overcome the difficulty in obtaining Linux and open-source software due to the restrictive telecommunications environment in South Africa, where the easy downloading of large pieces of software is just not possible.
The three kiosks, powered by Sun Ultra 20 Workstations, will be built at JavaOne 2006 and will dispense copies of free versions of the Solaris 10 operating system, OpenSolaris, and Linux operating systems, compilers, Java development tools, and several Java-based free and open-source software applications packaged for the first time for worldwide delivery through Freedom Toasters.
-- Chris Preimesberger
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