Re: How mature are the Free Software efforts on Java?

[Norbert Bollow]

> project I would really suggest you think about licensing issues, copyleft,
> GPL, derived works, etc. from the start.

*Nod* We're using GPL for everything, with linking exceptions
for libraries that are meant to be used by thrid-party programs
(currently only pnetlib)... Classpath is even mentioned as the
source of inspiration in the relevant FAQ document :-)

BTW the linking exception in pnetlib is different from the one
used here, as "native methods" (i.e. things implemented in the
VM and not in C# etc) are excluded from the linking exception,
i.e. if someone modifies pnetlib to make use of additional
"native methods" then those "native methods" are forced under
GPL+linking exception.

> When you have such a really dynamic and integrated environment like
> the Java Platform or like you will have with the DotNet/GNU environment
> then defining bounderies between (derived) works is difficult. On one level
> it makes it much clearer when programs access each other through network
> protocols running on different machines it is hard to not see them as
> seperate works (but is it fair?).

We're treating them as separate works.  This may or may not be fair,
but I don't think there's any viable alternative.

> > Do you have a suggestion on how to possibly find a volunteer who
> > might be interested in porting one of the Classpath-using VMs to
> > make it work with DotGNU ?
> 
> How should I interpret that request?
> Please forgive my ignorance but what is the goal of the DotGNU project

Create a "webservices platform" that will compete with Microsoft's
.NET (note that some aspects of Microsoft's "webservices" strategy
are really strategies to lock in customers.  We have a strategy for
avoiding that kind of problems).

> and how would a java virtual machine and/or the standard java libraries
> fit in? Do you want java language support, java library support and/or
> java virtual machine/byte code support?

All of that :-)

We want to support Java in the same way as C#/CLR (as per Microsoft's
ECMA specs) will also be supported.  As soon as Parrot (the bytecode
system of Perl6) is available, it will probably be added to the list
of bytecode systems that we want to support.

A core somponent of DotGNU will be the "Secure Execution Environment"
(SEE).  This will run as a daemon both on webservice servers as well
as on PCs of end-users who choose to install it.  SEE will have
several plug-ins, one of them will be a Java virtual machine / JITer.
This must of course have access to a standard Java library that is
installed on the machine where the SEE daemon runs.

Of course what we really want is support for the Java language (and
also Ada, which can also be compiled to Java bytecode) but I'm hoping
that as soon as the issues with the virtual machine and the standard
library are solved, we can simply say "you can use any Java compiler
such as for example gcj."  DotGNU has no plans for building a Java
compiler of our own. (We're doing that for C#, and it's coming along
nicely.  It can BTW not only compile to Microsft's IL but also to Java
bytecode.)

Greetings, Norbert.

-- 
A member of FreeDevelopers and the DotGNU Steering Committee: dotgnu.org
Norbert Bollow, Weidlistr.18, CH-8624 Gruet   (near Zurich, Switzerland)
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