Red Hat Joins Open Source Java Project

narramissic writes "Red Hat has signed on to Sun's OpenJDK project and agreed to coordinate its own Java development efforts for Linux with the project. Red Hat will align the work it has done on IcedTea (its own implementation of some parts of the Java SE JDK) with OpenJDK. As part of its participation in OpenJDK, Red Hat will eventually create a compatible OpenJDK implementation for its Enterprise Linux distribution and will also use OpenJDK to create a runtime for its JBoss Enterprise Middleware that is optimized for a Linux environment."

parallel universe

[squoozer]

I must have slipped into a parallel universe or something because it's starting to look like Java might finally make it's way onto the Linux platform in a useable way. Fair enough we have been deploying Java apps on Linux boxes for a while but it's been much harder than deploying a PHP, C, C++, etc etc application. That always struck me as strange because I would have thought that Java was the perfect language for open source projects. Fairly quick, simple to develop in, stacks of libraries, popular.

Re:mono

[AKAImBatman]

As you may have figured out, that's not the real Miguel. This is his doppelgänger who tries to be funny. "What about mono?" is obviously a gag based on how hard Miguel tries to push Mono as being a one-true-OSS-replacement-for-Java-that-is-potentially-encumbered-but-you're-supposed-to-trust-Miguel-that-it's-not.

I dunno. I chuckled. Mods, make your own decision.

Re:Other Linux Java Options?

[bberens]

If you need Real Time efficiency use specialized hardware, OS, and not Java. If you're making a little app that you want to be able to run on virtually any cell phone on the planet... use Java. Use the right tool for the job. How difficult is that?

Re:Sun has found religion..

[publicworker]

Sun, you might win over my heart just yet.

I don't think they care about your heart. It's your wallet they are going after.

For most geeks the way to their wallet is via their heart.

Re:Will anything change for end users?

[Z00L00K]

If you run three different VM:s that are incompatible then something is amiss unless at least one of them is the Microsoft VM that is known to be incompatible.

Only a few issues makes it harder to run all on the latest SUN JRE, and none of them are considered good programming practice. I suggest that you take that back to the app vendors and tell them to get it right and working on the latest released Java (1.6).

The major problem I have recognized is actually related more to the centrally distribution of software packages in a company network where an older JRE is installed and overrides the path of the latest JRE. That causes more problems than you deserve. Of course - in the end it depends on the installation software that thinks that since I'm last to be installed I'm the latest version, which is REALLY WRONG in many cases.

Re:Will anything change for end users?

[hey!]

I think the biggest problem with the original write once, run everywhere promise was this: Java was almost, but not quite, an operating system. If you had a system that worked on WinXP but not Vista, you'd fix the problem; you wouldn't tell your customers to install both operating systems on the same machine because he can't. If I had A,B and C that only ran on Windows versions X,Y and Z respectively, I'd take the trouble to make A and B run on Z.

In Java I can get by with A, B and C each running only on JDK 1.2, 1.4 and 1.6 respectively, but I have to call upon the user, working with the host OS, to deal with any confusion that arises. Now, multiply that by any libraries you use that aren't part of the standard java distribution, and things start to get really interesting.

In part the problem of Java classpaths is one of an embarrassment of riches. There are so many powerful frameworks and amazingly useful little libraries that are out there, free for the taking. However, once you open that Pandora's box, it isn't simply a matter of write once, run everywhere; you have to deal wit the dependency issues that come out of that box. It can be done, and it's not really all that difficult, it's just one of those craft things that some people seem to have figured out how to do and others seem to leave as an afterthought after all the fun stuff has been finished.

The embarrassment of riches also applies to the biggest pitfall in Java development: making bad framework choices, which you can do in multiples at the same time on any project. Leaving aside the case where you have a bad framework (the early EJB stuff -- ugh), or where you have made a bad mistake in requirements analysis, there are so many frameworks that are wonderful for one set of requirements and dreadful overkill for others. Working with a set less than optimally chosen frameworks sucks the joy out of a project, as you set aside the pleasure of solving the client's problem for the tedious drudgery of gluing together mismatched bits of architecture.

Re:parallel universe

[Anonymous Coward]

The problem with you argument is SUN never managed to create a good installer. People didn't use gcj because they preferred it they used gcj because red hat/fedora/debian packaged it and (unlike SUN) knew how to create working linux installers

So SUN gave Java on Linux a bad name by making its stuff harder to install than alternatives