Let’s face it. We all knew Sun would get acquired. The question was just when and by whom. Now that its happened, and Oracle is the winner, I must say I like the situation better than if IBM had bought them. Just from a EE specification perspective, IBM was always a bit reactionary when it came to anything new. On EE 5, Oracle was a staunch ally in our push to get JPA through and a part of EE 5 (and thus retiring CMP and making JDO obsolete). On EE 6, we’ve met a bit of resistence from them when it comes to the-spec-formally-known-as-Web-Beans, but they’ve been at least open to the idea. Who knows how the Oracle business guys will want to deal with Java. That is the wildcard IMO. Should be fun… Interesting times.
Apr 22, 2009 @ 16:57:21
A lot of questions arise, but I think the Java platform will be just fine.
Something I’m wondering is who’ll buy Red Hat/JBoss. Considering that HP bought EDS last year, I think it makes a lot of sense for them to acquire Red Hat/JBoss and get their solid software stack. It’d be a bargain for HP and it’d give them the chance to compete with IBM, Oracle and Microsoft.
Apr 23, 2009 @ 21:07:28
I like the IBM match better, as from the licensing perspective they were very open current model is broken and needed to get rid of and Java be open. With IBM I thought the possibility of Java going totally open under an Eclipse or Apache license was a real possibility. I can’t say the same about Oracle.
ceo
Apr 24, 2009 @ 14:06:20
@Enrique:
I don’t think a totally open Java or Java EE is the best idea. You need a benevolent dictator with a good vision to push things through when have political resistence to a new specification or idea. A prime example is JPA. JPA would have never been part of EE 5 if Sun hadn’t rammed it through.
Apr 27, 2009 @ 18:07:52
I wonder what exactly will happen to the JCP. Being a member, I know any agreements I signed with them were executed with “Sun Microsystems” and not the “JCP” or some independent organization. Would that give Oracle full control over the JCP and could they remove whomever they chose?
Apr 27, 2009 @ 19:25:03
I have no idea John. End of the world conspiracies rarely happen though. Even with Oracle.