

Oracle set to merge Java virtual machines - joubert
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/021810-oracle-set-to-merge-java.html

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lukev
Sigh.

Step 1: Write a (proprietary) hybrid VM merging Hotspot and JRockit with lots
of difficult-to-implement, succulent features.

Step 2: Modify the JDK 7 spec to include these features.

Step 3: Wag tail as OpenJDK slips into obsolescence.

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cageface
It's really a shame that Java has fallen under the shadow of Oracle just as
alternative JVM languages were starting to get really good.

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lukev
Agreed. Of course, people were content with Java because it was open source...
could this divert mindshare into a truly open source system? LLVM or Parrot,
perhaps?

Here's to hoping it happens in a constructive way rather than becoming so
fragmented it's no good.

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cageface
A lot of the value of the JVM comes from the libraries and tooling that have
grown around it over the years. Replacing both the JVM and all that support
code is going to be a hell of a lot of work.

I hate to say it but a lot seems to depend on the ability of Oracle to make
the smart move here.

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kolektiv
_"It's not an easy problem taking the best of each, figuring out what the
long-term convergence plan is."_

That's an understatement. The complexity of merging two fairly distinct VMs
while trying to maintain feature parity with both separate previous versions,
and taking the best features of both? Eighteen months seems optimistic. I also
hope they have some incredibly good way of producing a combined test suite,
because this seems like the most promising way of introducing myriad subtle
bugs I can imagine.

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wheaties
I doubt it was the developers who are responsible for the merging who came up
with an 18 month estimate. Invariably it's not going to happen on time or if
the 18 month milestone is hit, it'll stay alpha for quite some time. JDK7 +
merging of 2 distinct VMs? Sheesh...

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rbanffy
Oracle certainly has money to throw at the problem. The question whether the
problem is one that can be solved by throwing lots of money at it will be
answered in 18 months.

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joubert
Throwing money at it probably won't solve it.

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JoachimSchipper
... especially considering that quite a few of Sun's star engineers have
already left.

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ouhjygj
So what would happen if a large company in Redmond hired/contracted a bunch of
ex-Sun engineers to make a java->.Net compiler so all this stuff ran on the
CLR

As Oracle makes it harder and harder to use the JVM people are forced into the
waiting arms of MSFT

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jjs_
<http://www.ikvm.net/> ??

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jim_dot
It's VMs all the way down!

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kokoloko
Where does this put OpenJDK? I doubt Oracle is thinking of open sourcing
JRockit parts...

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_grrr
What was the relationship between OpenJDK and HotSpot ?

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ominous_prime
OpenJDK contains the HotSpot JVM

<http://openjdk.java.net/groups/hotspot/>

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BonoboBoner
I present you teh plan:

(Hotspot+JRockit)-Zombie = Enterprise JDK with paywall

OpenJDK = Free JDK without the fun/fast/secure/... stuff

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tamersalama
Anyone knows how this would affect JRuby?

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joubert
Or any of the other JVM-based languages such as Scala, Groovy, Clojure...?

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JoachimSchipper
It may become impossible to get the newest JVM under an open-source license,
which would mean that they wouldn't benefit (much) from Sun/Oracle's future
development efforts.

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c00p3r
Just a blah-blah-blah.

