Sun officially announced yesterday plans to release the source code of its Java Micro Edition (J2ME) implementation before the end of the year. Designed for deployment on embedded devices like PDAs and cell phones, J2ME provides an assortment of APIs for developing small-screen applications.
Sun has been crawling towards open source Java at a glacial pace, and is now on the verge of releasing some of the most critical components. Although Java has lost the desktop to .NET and is gradually losing ground on the server to alternatives like Python and Ruby, it remains a force to be reckoned with in the mobile market, particularly on cell phones, where it is widely used for games and applications. J2ME provides numerous benefits in an embedded environment, particularly with regards to portability, and market statistics indicate that it is used on over 94 million devices.
Releasing the source code of J2ME is advantageous for Sun as well as the open source community and J2ME application developers, because the availability of source code will make it easier for developers and phone manufacturers to extend and specialize the development platform for use with new devices.
Sun also announced the creation of a new community web site for open source Java products. Although the J2ME source will be available within a few months, the rest of the Java platform won't be opened until next year. Sun is supposedly still engaged in a code ownership audit in order to determine which components can be released. Some components, like the proprietary font rastarizer used by Java, cannot be released. Sun executive Laurie Tolsen explains that the proprietary components may be replaced with open source components at some time in the future. At this point, Sun has still not revealed which license it will use for the source code, but it will probably be Sun's own CDDL license, which is used for Solaris.
In the past, I have been extremely critical of Sun's inconsistent open source strategy. The creation of the Java community website and the imminent release of J2ME are very promising new developments, and it could be a sign that Sun is ready to live up to its claims of commitment to open source ideals. The real test will be the license. Ideally, Sun should pursue a dual-licensing strategy with the GPL and CDDL in order to maximize interest in the source code.
reader comments