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Java tug-of-war
Sun decides to retain control of Java; the Java community voices mixed reactions
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December 11, 1999 -- As Java rolls full steam ahead into enterprises, its creator, Sun Microsystems, has decided to remain at the helm of the technology's development. Just last week, the company stunned the Java Business Expo in New York by announcing that it has removed Java from consideration by the European Computer Manufacturers' Association (ECMA), a standards body to which Sun had been considering turning over control of the platform.
Sun officials described the move as an effort to remain a steadfast guardian of the standard without exerting undue control over the technology, but for most the decision once again raised the question of potential conflicts between the company's need to drive shareholder value and its paternal role in the development of Java and the needs of the industry embracing it.
At the heart of the issue is the choice between a unified vision that can evolve the Java standard over time or a model in which everyone can influence the platform's development, says Jeff Fredrick, vice president of engineering at code provider Open Avenue, in Scotts Valley, Calif.
"With Sun [in control], you get a unified vision, but you have to wonder whether the long-term vision evolves toward the community as a whole," Frederick says. "With a standards body, everyone gets input, and that may outweigh the benefit of Sun's unified vision."
Even before Sun's decision to keep control of Java, rumblings from those in favor of the latter option -- who feel it is time for Sun to place its creation in the hands of an independent standards body -- were growing. The contention is that even though Sun has been a fair and beneficial shepherd of the standard to date, the time has come to turn the process over to an independent organization with no interests outside of developing the most useful technology possible.
"In terms of running its business and working on the standard, Sun's done a great job at balancing. The problem in the equation is inherently unbalanced," says Kenny Rubin, chief operating officer at Secant Technologies, in Cleveland. "Regardless of how well Sun's doing at shepherding, their need to address shareholders is at odds with the process."
ECMA itself is said to be considering moving forward with the Java standardization process, although officials at Sun say they don't see how the organization could possibly come up with a complete standard in light of the numerous copyrights still owned by the company.
Those who argue in favor of Sun's continued control would take odds with any independent ECMA effort, believing that a drawn-out standards effort could result in the promising technology wilting on the vine.
Such vendors and developers are encouraging Sun on its current course, believing that whether or not Sun can continue to maintain its dichotomous role as both corporate entity and guiding light, the end result would be more beneficial than what any third-party stewardship could contribute.
"The current process is working far better than we have ever seen with a language controlled by a standards body," says Lindsay Patten, lead architect for Java products at Rogue Wave Software, a Boulder, Colo.-based vendor of software solutions for building distributed enterprise-level applications. "Basically, I think the only advantage of handing control over to a standards body would be that those bodies that can only use things which are approved by a standards body could use Java, and the vague 'threat' that Sun will suddenly become unreasonable would be countered," he says.
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