Sun to open source Java under the GPL

Sun Microsystems is to make its Java development platform available under the Free Software Foundation's GNU General Public Licence.

Apart from small portions of the code which Sun has licensed from third parties, all of Java will be made available under the GPL, encouraging Java developers around the world to make their own changes and redistribute the code without requiring additional permission from Sun.

"The open sourcing of this really means more - more richness of offerings, more capability, more applications that consumers will get to use," said Rich Green, executive VP of software at Sun. "The platform itself will become a place for innovation."

The Samba development team has asked Novell to reconsider its deal with Microsoft, saying it will lead to division and artificial distinction in the FLOSS developer community.

"The patent agreement struck between Novell and Microsoft is a divisive agreement," it says. "It deals with users and creators of free software differently depending on their 'commercial' versus 'non-commercial' status, and deals with them differently depending on whether they obtained their free software directly from Novell or from someone else.

"The goals of the Free Software community and the GNU GPL allow for no such distinctions," it adds. Samba develops a Windows interoperability tool chain that allows Linux and Unix servers to transparently access Windows shares using the SMB protocol.

Ubuntu developers from around the world have been gathering at Google in Mountain View in California to discuss the latest coding issues.

Linux.com reports that the developers spend most of their time discussing ideas, nailing down technical specs or working to improve the governance of the Linux distributions community.

Thanks to Slashdot, Samba, Lycos News and Linux.com