GPL2 Java?

[Hans de Goede]

Jeff Spaleta wrote:
> On 11/13/06, Otto Rey <otto_rey at yahoo.com.ar> wrote:
>>
>> +1 Include Sun JDK in Fedora
>> +1 Move Gcj to Extras
>>
>>
>> From: Warren Togami <wtogami at redhat.com>
>> Keep in mind that bits don't land until March 2007.
> 
> Keep in mind that any such actions will have to be in a post fc7
> timeframe if Warren's statement is correct and the re-licensed code
> isn't publically available until March 2007.  A detailed discussion as
> to what to do is a bit premature until we have the re-licensed code in
> hand.  I really think it would be a bad idea to rely on a promise to
> re-license, to make technical decisions which could impact the fc7
> release.  Its enough to know everyone is aware about it and the
> timescales involved. Work on gcj can't stop if Sun's relicensed
> release isn't available soon enough for the fc7 testing timeframe.
> 
> -jef"Dates slip...even if Sun is serious this time about open sourcing
> java...you can't count on them holding to a specific date of
> availability this far out in the process"spaleta
> 

Agreed, what is however very interesting is one of the parts released
under the GPL NOW, the hotspot vm, which according to SUN's FAQ:
"Q:
What is the Java HotSpot virtual machine? What can developers do with
this component?
A:
Java HotSpot is Sun's implementation of the Java virtual machine. The
Java HotSpot VM includes the core execution engine for the Java
platform, including:

    * dynamic compilers that convert Java bytecodes into optimized
native machine code on supported hardware platforms
    * memory management and garbage collection subsystems
    * threads and synchronization
    * monitoring, debugging, and profiling telemetry
    * parts of the Java security architecture including the bytecode
verifier"

I'm especially hoping that the "parts of the Java security architecture
including the bytecode verifier" will help us get a gcj-web-plugin for
FC-7.

Regards,

Hans