Sun Microsystems Inc. appears to be seriously considering industry advocates' proposals that it should offer an open-source implementation of Java. In addition to an impending meeting with IBM—which called on Sun to think about open-sourcing Java—Sun has been in contact with open-source advocate Eric S. Raymond on the very same issue, according to Raymond.
Raymond last month sent an open letter to Sun Chairman and CEO Scott McNealy titled "Let Java Go," calling for Sun to open-source Java. Not long afterward, Raymond said, a Sun official contacted him to discuss his views on how Sun might better work with the open-source community regarding Java. In an interview with eWEEK, Raymond, of Malvern, Pa., who is author of the open-source classic "The Cathedral and the Bazaar" and co-founder and president of the Open Source Initiative, said he wants to discuss with Sun an overall strategy for offering an open-source Java.
News source: eWeek
