SAP CTO Calls For Java Freedom

Vishal Sikka, CTO at SAP has made a call for Java to be opened up for the community in his latest blog entry. Having incorporated Java into their NetWeaver platform back in 2001, SAP see Java as having a huge role in the global IT industry and that this will continue. 

For 15 years, Java has been a programming language that brought about significant innovation. Java is everywhere, from large scale enterprise applications to mobile devices and payment cards.  Java is also the language of the community, enabling a whole generation of developers to collaborate and co-innovate within open source communities like Apache and Eclipse. 

Ownership is at the core of Vishal's message, and he would rather see Java to be under the stewardship of an open body, rather than biased by a single corporation. With Oracle taking charge, they are in a position where they could open up the JCP. One of the most interesting points made in this article is that they have already requested that it should be more open: 

 "It is the sense of the Executive Committee that the JCP become an open independent vendor-neutral Standards Organization where all members participate on a level playing field ..."

JCP EC meeting summary - December 7th 2007, Resolution 1 (proposed by Oracle, seconded by BEA)

Taking a look at the #freejava tag on Twitter, most people seem to agree with Vishal's comments. Where Java goes from here will be interesting.

James is a DZone Zone Leader and has posted 261 posts at DZone. You can read more from them at their website.