Oracle-IBM pact cuts Android off at the knees
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18/10/2010 05:48:00
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That would be a disaster for Android. Apache developer Stephen Colebourne, who's been following the minutiae on his personal blog, believes IBM cut this deal because Oracle agreed to unblock a logjam in the Java Community Process that controls the platform. As a result, new versions of Java with long-awaited features should arrive in 2011 and 2012. But with no major financial backing for the development of its Java libraries, Android could slip behind and lose the love of its Java-savvy developer base.
What's Google to do? Interestingly enough, Google also contributes to the OpenJDK project -- in fact, Google has more developers working on OpenJDK projects than Oracle does. By using a Java implementation from a neutral, reputable source like the Apache Foundation, Android was able to exploit Java's popularity but keep itself at arm's length from much of the platform's byzantine politics. But that didn't keep Oracle's lawyers at bay, and now Google may have no alternative but to inject development resources into Harmony -- and take ownership of a bigger role in this struggle.
This article, "Oracle-IBM pact cuts Android off at the knees," was originally published at InfoWorld.com.
What's Google to do? Interestingly enough, Google also contributes to the OpenJDK project -- in fact, Google has more developers working on OpenJDK projects than Oracle does. By using a Java implementation from a neutral, reputable source like the Apache Foundation, Android was able to exploit Java's popularity but keep itself at arm's length from much of the platform's byzantine politics. But that didn't keep Oracle's lawyers at bay, and now Google may have no alternative but to inject development resources into Harmony -- and take ownership of a bigger role in this struggle.
This article, "Oracle-IBM pact cuts Android off at the knees," was originally published at InfoWorld.com.
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