thejavajar

Yeah, Sun Microsystems is gone. My Sun Microsystems stock (JAVA) has been turned into cash assets and I thought about buying some Oracle stock (ORCL). Why you ask? Well, maybe they know what they are doing. Maybe they can make some money with Java. As a developer should I care? I believe in what Java (the language) is/was and I believe in the Java platform. I believe in SpringSource, Apache, JBoss, Google and all the other incredible 3rd party organizations who are writing tools/solutions for the Java platform. So what now? What’s the score here? One side of me says, “…Boo hoo, I am going to miss Sun…”, while the other side of me says, “…I sometimes forgot they were even here…”. Maybe this is the fresh start Java needs?

Although many people believe that IBM and Sun Microsystems are synonymous with Java, especially in the corporate environment, I do believe that there is a need for keeping things separate. The concept is somewhat similar to the separation of church and state here in the United States. On one side, we have the belief and ability to make changes and foster ideas to keep things open and less constrained. Then on the other side, we have walls and boundaries that limit when and where we can go. We don’t have to mix our beliefs with every aspect of what we do and we surely do not want our limitations to constrain our ideology and options. I appreciate what each company does within their own space but I am a bit weary about IBM purchasing Sun.

After I read on Slashdot last week that Sun had announced that they had bought MySQL, I scurried around the Web looking for reactions from the community. I knew that I would find comments that were positive and negative about the merger and I certainly found comments and posts that were basically blasting Sun and/or MySQL. Some of us have stronger opinions than others and there is nothing wrong with that.

I can easily admit that I have a dependency on Open Source technology and I think that it is great to see the community growing larger. I think that the Sun, MySQL merger is, if anything, a great benchmark for Open Source technology. For me, it is just another confirmation of a shift in software/technology momentum. I cannot say whether or not this is going to have negative repercussions in the future for either party or a 3rd party, but the community will benefit either way because the shift is not standing still.