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Microsoft's "Java Evangelist" responds to Java Lobby requests
Java Lobby angry over Microsoft's apparent about-face.
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San Francisco (10/1/97) -- In an open letter to Bill Gates and Microsoft, the founder of the grass-roots Java Lobby passionately argued for Microsoft's adherence to the "write once, run anywhere" goal of Java. The result: Though no formal response has been offered by Bill, Microsoft's Java Evangelist told JavaWorld that such adherence is not forthcoming.
The letter, which was posted to the Java Lobby Web site early last week, expressed the Lobby's dissatisfaction with what it views as Microsoft's move to fragment and balkanize Java. The discussion boiled down to these two key points:
- Java 1.1 support in Internet Explorer (IE) 4.0
- Microsoft's stance on shipping the Java Foundation Classes (JFC) and future Java 1.2 APIs as standard parts of Windows and IE
In response to the request for Java 1.1 support in IE, Microsoft's Java Evangelist Brad Merrill told JavaWorld, "Microsoft will ship full 1.1 compatibility [in the new release of IE] -- except for RMI [Remote Method Invocation] and JNI [Java Native Interface]." He suggested that the lack of support for these two APIs was likely due to "time, complexity, compatibility, and competition...you can pick any two." Rick Ross, a Java developer and the founder of the Java Lobby, scoffed at these "excuses," noting that he would rather see such companies standing up for freedom of choice in computing decisions, integrity, and individual rights, rather than simply trying to attain a bottom line. Ross says he realizes that his rhetoric may be dismissed because of its lofty idealist overtones, but he feels strongly "that the individual still matters and that we should be entitled to an expectation of basic decency in the conduct of industry leaders."
In terms of the request for support of the JFC and other APIs, Merrill said Microsoft will not support the JFC, while it will consider support of future Sun APIs "on a case-by-case ba. We're not going to take everything JavaSoft determines as a standard as our gospel."
Merrill went on to say that "I don't disagree with developers trying to gain a voice," noting that he believes Microsoft listens to developers. He did say, however, that developers "can't just go whining to corporations trying to fix your problems for free. A lot of developers want Microsoft to solve their problems. We think we offer some solid technologies to solve developers' problems...our VM [virtual machine] kicks butt." He plainly added, "If you don't like our implementation [of Java], then why not use the JDK?"
Ross responded by saying "I don't know what to call what Microsoft is doing, but it's not Java." Ross describes the "Java core platform" as a combination of the language, the VM and its bytecodes, and the full class libraries. He emphasizes cross-platform portability, and considers Microsoft's decision not to ship a fully-compliant Java core platform in the new release of IE evidence that Microsoft wants to balkanize Java. "I think that the touchstone for comparison is whether the implementor is trying to produce a portable implementation of Java or whether they are trying not to."
Ross explains that his feelings about Microsoft's stance stem from what he sees as a complete about-face in regard to the company's support for Java. A little over a year ago, Cornelius Willis, director of platform marketing at Microsoft, said:
We want developers to know that we are going to give them a choice with safety. We will enable everything for both Java and Visual Basic, JavaScript, and VBScript. Everything will run in Netscape, we will be browser independent. We are going to give developers maximum opportunity to take advantage of everything out there on the Net even if it doesn't belong to Microsoft. And we are going to provide maximum leverage for developers to use the tools they know and love on multiple platforms. ("Microsoft and the Internet Wars: Freedom Fighters," OneMind, 1996)
Like many developers, Ross took such comments to heart and began developing with Java in earnest. "Many of us have devoted a significant portion of our resources to Java development [based] on the premise that Microsoft would honor its commitment to support the cross-platform portability of Java," said Ross.
Yesterday, Willis went on record once again in Computerworld. This time his message was quite different. In referring to the Lobby letter, and specifically to Ross, Willis said, "This guy is hanging on a limb. Anybody riding on Java is, and that's very sad ... and there will be lots more disappointed as they realize how bad it's going to get."
Citing Willis, Ross said, "This man is the mouthpiece of Microsoft and when I see statements from him that directly contradict his previous statements, I want to know why I should believe anything else this company says ... and I would like to ask everyone to ask themselves the same question." Ross especially takes issue with what he sees as the general lack of integrity on the part of Microsoft, saying, "What I want to know is whose child doesn't get to eat or whose rent doesn't get paid because Microsoft has turned its back on a promise. The spirit of Java -- and everyone knows it -- is portability, and it involves a dedication to try to achieve the 'write once, run anywhere' goal."
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