一个open source的Java实现，这的确是很有意思的一件事。Sun总是这样，既没有垄断的实力，又不肯走向开放。如果能做出一个open source的Java实现，甚至把Java完全open source，可能会对Sun更有利吧？TSS有人评价“Sun has been amazingly stupid about not leveraging the Open Source/ Linux community”，于我心有戚戚焉。
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Red Hat Plans Open Source Java, Prepares Linux DesktopBy Matthew Aslett
Red Hat Inc is in discussions with Sun Microsystems Inc about launching an open source version of Sun's Java environment, according to Red Hat chairman and CEO Matthew Szulik.
The Raleigh, North Carolina-based Linux distributor is also lining up a slew of product launches including its new Red Hat Linux Desktop operating system and new versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux and the Red Hat Network.
Szulik said that Red Hat has been working for five years on open source versions of Java technologies such as Just In Time compilers and Java Virtual Machines in a clean room environment, and has requested the sponsorship of Sun to go ahead with the full-scale project.
"There's always been an interest in an open source implementation of Java developed in a clean room that adheres to the Java standards," Szulik told ComputerWire. "We're in discussions with Sun. We'd like to do this with their support."
Sun has shied away from calls to launch an open source version of Java in the past, but has contributed other technologies to the open source community, such as the OpenOffice office applications suite and the NetBeans Java development environment. The company has also made it easier for open source Java 2 Enterprise Edition implementations to be tested against the official Test Compatibility Kit without being required to also accept official J2EE code.
Sun might be persuaded that an open source version of Java would help it to compete with Microsoft Corp's .NET and C Sharp, especially since the Mono project is developing open source implementations of the .NET development framework for use on Linux and Unix.
Szulik said that discussions between Red Hat and Sun had reached a "very serious stage", but he would not estimate a timeline for the delivery of an open source version of Java.
Meanwhile, Red Hat's attack on the enterprise desktop market is due for launch in September or October with the delivery of the Red Hat Linux Desktop. The company's president of international operations, Alex Pinchev, said the product is being launched in response to customer demand and will be priced to give Microsoft a run for its money in terms of total cost of ownership.
"Our target market is the enterprise desktop," he said. "It's probably a tougher market competitively than the server market and the price level will probably not be much lower than Windows, but the cost saving will be in the combined cost of management and support."
Pinchev said that Windows typically costs $300 per desktop, including license and management costs, while Red Hat's target is $100 per desktop. The company will be helped in reaching this aim by the September/October release of version 3.0 of its Red Hat Enterprise Network systems management service, which will add functionality for the configuration, provisioning and patch management of desktop systems.
"Our investment is now in scaling out from the operating system so that the operating system becomes only a part of our solution offerings," said Szulik. "It's a point of differentiation for us - the fact that we have the ability to add to the code base for new products and technologies, but it's all a single code base and a single tree."
As indicated by that statement, Red Hat Linux Desktop will be based on the same code as its Enterprise Linux ES and AS server operating systems and Enterprise Linux WS workstation version, which was released in March 2003 and was a forerunner of the new Desktop version.
However, the company's main revenue generator remains the Red Hat Enterprise Linux server operating system, and this too will be refreshed in September/October with improved support for multi-threading, virtualization, clustering and scaling.
According to Szulik, the new version will be aimed at very high system loads and will enable Red Hat Enterprise Linux to work past the 4GB limit it experiences on 32-bit systems, making it suitable for transactional environments and high-volume database serving needs. Improved throughput and memory management will also be combined with support for Carrier Grade Linux capabilities, making it suitable for demanding telecommunication environments, he added.
Red Hat's aggressive product plans, combined with 39% year-on-year revenue growth in its recently completed first quarter, indicate that the company is feeling few ill-effects of The SCO Group Inc's allegations that Linux contains code illegally copied from its Unix code base.
Szulik admitted that customers had questions regarding the allegations, but said that it was not stopping them deploying Linux. "As customers deploy Linux deeper and deeper in their organizations, more and more difficult questions get asked," he said. "But that's just good-due diligence for the customer."
Indeed, Szulik said he had recently met with between 50 and 60 CIOs in the US and that not one of them was concerned about SCO's threats. "They've got more important things to worry about," he said. "The last thing customers want is a sideshow."
© ComputerWireTM 2003 Article Date: 23 Jun 2003
