Depth: when IBM and Oracle changed the game to form an OpenJDK Alliance

Introduction: The Oracle-IBMOpenJDK alliance has a ripple effect on the entire Java industry, which has a negative impact on the healthy development of the Java ecosystem. Based on comments from various points of view, the former JavaWorld editor AthenOShea's comment goes directly to the nature of the question: This is for ProjectHarmony, JCP, The Future of open source, and Jav

Oracle-IBM OpenJDK alliance has a ripple effect on the entire Java industry, which has a negative impact on the healthy development of the Java ecosystem. Based on comments from various points of view, the former JavaWorld editor atemedio's comment goes directly to the nature of the problem: This is for the Project Harmony, JCP, The Future of open source, and Jav

Guidance:Oracle-IBM OpenJDK alliance has a ripple effect on the entire Java industry, which has a negative impact on the healthy development of the Java ecosystem. Looking at comments from various points of view, the former JavaWorld editor atemedio's comment goes directly to the nature of the question: this will affect the future of Project Harmony, JCP, open-source, and open-standard-based development on the Java platform.

IBM and Oracle announced a joint announcement on April 9, October 11. They will work together to promote the OpenJDK project, which surprised many people. Many commentators agree that this initiative will redefine the Java ecosystem through the joint efforts of two major companies and is good news for the future of Java technology.

More than 60% of respondents in the Javalobby vote (600 in the latest statistics) said they believed that IBM's decision to assist the OpenJDK project was beneficial to Java technology. By deciding to develop on OpenJDK, the two companies have successfully stopped speculation about IBM-led Java branches, which is of the same significance for the Java industry with billions of dollars. In addition, there are some private comments, said Mike Milinkovich of the Eclipse Foundation, "we can go back to focusing on development and innovation ."

Oracle-IBM announcement will also become a tough choice for this fast-growing industry. From multinational corporations with long-term technological investment to small companies and individuals, they must decide whether to continue developing software on the Java platform. This article will show the key factors and participants involved in Oracle and IBM decision-making. At the end of each section, there is a link to web resources that will introduce all aspects of this alliance.

OpenJDK as an Oracle-IBM Project

OpenJDK is an open-source reference implementation for the Java platform. It includes Java SE, Java language, JDK, and JRE. The requirements of OpenJDK specifications are determined by the vote of Java Community Process. The upcoming vote will determine whether the proposed OpenJDK road map can be accepted by the JCP Executive Committee.

Mark Reinhold, chief architect of Java Platform Group, said that IBM's OpenJDK engineers may be "mainly responsible for class library development and working with some of our colleagues to build a general source Platform, this allows you to use top-level multi-Java virtual machines." The two companies are likely to work independently on their respective JVMs and will see "feature differences between many different enterprises", he said.

Win or lose

Choosing ibm as an OpenJDK partner is obviously a strategic decision of Oracle. Adam Messinger, vice president of Oracle's software business, said the move reflected that both companies wanted to accelerate the solution to the challenges posed by the rapid development of multi-core hardware. "This cooperation reflects the strategic reality we both face," he said.

The OpenJDK Alliance no longer isolates Oracle, says Stephen o'grady of RedMonk, who successfully confirmed and elevated its position in the Java ecosystem:

If Oracle wants to select a Java service provider for cooperation, it is easy to choose IBM. In addition to the blind trust among enterprises-for example, "purchasing IBM won't be abandoned"-the blue giant has an enviable reputation among developers. Now IBM is making public with Oracle, and it is much easier for the latter to maintain this ecosystem.

This is also a good move for IBM, even though it will clearly sacrifice Harmony. By switching engineering resources from Project Harmony to OpenJDK, IBM has enhanced its impact on Java technology, although it is clearly under the control of Oracle. The two companies said they would work together to ensure that the status of JCP, as the main standard organization for Java platform development, is enhanced and improved.

There are still unsolved issues, how to deal with Project Harmony, what does Oracle-IBM Alliance mean to Google (with the Android Cooperation Agreement), OpenJDK Alliance (and Google's response) what will it mean to other vendors in the Java technology industry, how the JCP will change, and how far it will change.

Read more: OpenJDK and Oracle-IBM Decision Making

• Most members of the OpenJDK Committee are Oracle (previously Sun) and IBM employees, while others are Google and Red Hat developers. (Oracle Java/FOSS represents Dalibor topics and