Dang ol'Internet says: yay for Free Java

Miguel de Icaza writes a message of congratulations and links to Tim Bray's post: "I have one concrete hope: that the people working on the GNU/Linux desktop can be unshackled from the tyranny of C++."

Would we have Free Java today without Mono? I don't think so. So some thanks go to Miguel here for showing what you can do with a platform that runs nifty tools such as Tomboy and F-Spot.

PJ: "By donating code to the GPL, the patent freedom goes with it."

Edwin Steiner from the Cacao project begins combining Cacao and Sun code (via Andrew Cowie, who also points out that the new Sun license matches the license for GNU Classpath. Nice meet in the middle there.

Meanwhile, IBM's Rod Smith makes some strange noises that are apparently patent-troll-speak for "curses, foiled again". Which brings up a good reason why Sun would choose to put Java under the GPL instead of the Apache license. (Other than the fact that GNU Classpath and other Java-related projects are already GPL, and can share code, of course.)

The Apache license and the GPL both have patent clauses, but they work in different ways.

Let's say A writes some software, and B distributes the software to C. Then patent troll D sues C. C complains to B, and B negotiates a license to pay D for each copy of A's software it distributes. D then drops the suit against C. B is still in business, C is happy, and D is getting paid. Everyone is happy except A, who can no longer distribute his or her own software without risking a lawsuit from D, who is, by the way, getting money from B to pay lawyers.

Jonathan Schwartz is not willing to have his company be A in this scenario. Can you blame him? Under the GPL, B can't pay D without losing its license to A's software. So, not just a great customer-friendly move by Sun here, but a solid, conservative move in the license game.

So thanks to The People Who Brought You FOSS Java.