From the
‘
They Told Us So
’
files:
Apache today officially resigned from the Java Community Process (JCP), after weeks of threatening to do so.
Earlier this week, I spoke with Apache’s Geir Magnusson about the recent approval of the Java 7 and 8 specs, which Apache voted against. At the time, Mangusson said a decision was coming soon about staying with the JCP – and here we are.
At issue is the license under which Oracle makes the TCK (Technology Compatibility Kit) for Java available. In Apache’s view, Oracle requires implementers to negotiate for seperate licenses from Oracle for the TCK.
“The recent Java SE 7 vote was the last chance for the JCP Executive Committee (EC) to
demonstrate that the EC has any intent to defend the JCP as an open
specification process, and demonstrate that the letter and spirit of the
law matter,” Apache wrote in a statement. “Oracle provided the EC with a Java SE 7 specification request and
license that are self-contradictory, severely restrict distribution of
independent implementations of the spec, and most importantly, prohibit
the distribution of independent open source implementations of the spec.”
That’s in line with what Apache has been saying for awhile and mirrors what Magnusson told me earlier this week.