Free Java (was Database for "average" users)

[Andrew Cowie]

On Sun, 2005-01-05 at 21:25 -0400, Christopher Browne wrote: 
> A fair number of the extensions getting added to OpenOffice.org seem
> to be Java apps, and the ability to include Java in Linux
> distributions is still pretty spotty.

That is decreasingly accurate.

> I don't see any JDK available for Debian other than in the non-free
> section

Debian being the only significant exception. RHEL, Fedora, Gentoo, etc
all have Java easy to use in the mainline distro.

> , and I haven't seen much indication of alternatives to Sun's
> implementation being  widely usable for general purposes. 

[And, although it's not free by Debian's definition (the problem mostly
being restrictions around redistribution), Sun's JVM is nevertheless
freely available, and works VERY well, thank you very much. For a large
footprint, long running, heavy load server instance I wouldn't choose
anything but.]

As for free java, it is a reality, and it works quite well for most
situations. In particular, GCJ's ability to compile to native
executables is brilliant.

>  There are a
> bunch of alternative JVMs, but only spotty coverage of Java classes.

That is also inaccurate.

A significant issue for any Java implementation is compatibility, and
I'm pleased to report the observation that those doing third party Java
implementations have been *very* scrupulous to stick to the defined Java
standard.

GCJ 3.4 gets to "rather good" and the recently released GCJ 4.0 (part of
GCC 4.0) has outstanding coverage and compatibility and indeed can quite
rightly claim to be a 1.4.2 JDK.

AfC
Sydney

-- 
Andrew Frederick Cowie
Management Consultant

Technology strategy, managing change, establishing procedures,
and executing successful upgrades to mission critical business
infrastructure.

http://www.operationaldynamics.com/

Sydney   New York   Toronto   London
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