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Oracle wants $9.3B for Google’s use of Java in Android

computerworld.com

31–40 of 156 posts

Re: Oracle wants $9.3B for Google’s use of Java in Android

#31
post #11

Oracle should pay Google for using Java in Android and keeping the language somewhere around edge of hip and cool. I wonder how long it will be before Google flips to Go or JavaScript for Android.

I don't think anyone has used "hip and cool" and "Java" in the same sentence for at least 15 years (2001) and no amount of Android can fix that.

Re: Oracle wants $9.3B for Google’s use of Java in Android

#32
post #23
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

J++ got into trouble for trademark issues because MS called their incompatible implementation Java(TM) and caused brand confusion. Android does not do this.

The fact is that Google forked Java, there is no difference at all.

But Google doesn't call its fork Java(TM), which makes all the difference between this case and J++. The practice of independently implementing and modifying an API has never been questioned until now. It was not in dispute in J++ and it's in fact the reason why software projects like GNU/Linux (which is at most an approximation of AT&T Unix and has never received any sort of certification) are able to exist.

Re: Oracle wants $9.3B for Google’s use of Java in Android

#34
post #11

Oracle should pay Google for using Java in Android and keeping the language somewhere around edge of hip and cool. I wonder how long it will be before Google flips to Go or JavaScript for Android.

I'd say never. That would kind of be like an apple switching to Swift for iOS. This is even harder for the Android runtime because it's run on a virtual machine with characteristics that don't easily map to another language. Basically if they switch to any other language all the apps that currently use Java (ie. all of them) will have to practically use their own VM -which would be slow - or reprogram everything in a…

Why would maintaining two runtime make dalvik app slower? They're all interpreted anyway.

Re: Oracle wants $9.3B for Google’s use of Java in Android

#35
FYI, Oracle is pushing this agenda to squeeze Java shops in other places as well.

The tack they are taking is to define any computer that does "one specific thing" as an embedded device and ask you for $300+ per "device", plus some other lofty fees. (http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/pricing/price-lists/java-...)

So, if you're using Java in a kiosk, ATM, media player, etc, they may be coming for you.

My guess is that this just spawns a mass migration to OpenJDK, but perhaps they trap enough Java shops that it's worth the effort?

Re: Oracle wants $9.3B for Google’s use of Java in Android

#36

I was thoroughly impressed with the judge who presided over the last ruling -- IIRC he went so far as to learn at least the basics of Java to the point where I remember being impressed by the insight of the questions he posed. There are subsets of law one can specialize in ranging from medical malpractice to obscure patent litigation, but as far as I know there are no factors linking a presiding judge to a specific s…

On software like JDK, my feeling (without thinking too much) is that the API is actually the most valuable part and the one that requires true expertise to craft.

When I think of API I think of "here is your interface eBNF"

    (interface)* = (class)* 
    (class) = (method_stub)* | (ivar)* | (class_var)*  |(property}* | {delegate}* | {some_LINQy_constructs}* | {other_stuff_from_NETCLR3.5_onwards}* | ... 
    . 
"Alright, now implement IEnumerator OnNext(); bool MoveNext(); IDisposible Dispose();"[1] and your data now has the trait/type-class/whatever of IEnumerable! That's all an API is really -- method signatures and code contracts between the requester/requestee. The real gold isn't in that, but in the implementation details of the JVM (and the greybeards who know the -Xxs256 -Xmm10230 blah blah, I suppose.)

I.e. Azul ZING(tm) and the lot of insanely high-performance and/or hard-real-time-in-the-QNX-sense is priced at... a lot. In finance we used to use it because operations could be bounded deterministically. There was enough value in that that CTOs cut 7 figure checks to run that specific API implementation rather than use the Sun/Oracle JVM.

[1] Yep that's probably gobblydygook. My C# and Java meld together, I always confuse IEnumerable,IEnumerator,IDispose,and all the damn duals smash together in my mind, even worse now with Rx one more tensor rank was added (Time). Gods of the CoreCLR, smite me not. Also I'm not in PL design, forgive my bad BNF.

Re: Oracle wants $9.3B for Google’s use of Java in Android

#37
post #11

Oracle should pay Google for using Java in Android and keeping the language somewhere around edge of hip and cool. I wonder how long it will be before Google flips to Go or JavaScript for Android.

I'd say never. That would kind of be like an apple switching to Swift for iOS. This is even harder for the Android runtime because it's run on a virtual machine with characteristics that don't easily map to another language. Basically if they switch to any other language all the apps that currently use Java (ie. all of them) will have to practically use their own VM -which would be slow - or reprogram everything in a…

Actually as a first step the language could be implemented on top of the dalvik vm. It's just that the IR of go would need to change for that target. Something like Truffle for OpenJDK could help by adopting new languages.

Re: Oracle wants $9.3B for Google’s use of Java in Android

#38

I was thoroughly impressed with the judge who presided over the last ruling -- IIRC he went so far as to learn at least the basics of Java to the point where I remember being impressed by the insight of the questions he posed. There are subsets of law one can specialize in ranging from medical malpractice to obscure patent litigation, but as far as I know there are no factors linking a presiding judge to a specific s…

On software like JDK, my feeling (without thinking too much) is that the API is actually the most valuable part and the one that requires true expertise to craft.

Why do you think so?

The java.* API is not even that good (it is very verbose to achieve basic things). The only reason to re-implement it is compatibility with existing, third-party software using that API.

If you would come with API, that would be technically better, but doing the same thing, do you think that everyone would rewrite all their libraries, frameworks and apps? No way.

Re: Oracle wants $9.3B for Google’s use of Java in Android

#39
post #11

Oracle should pay Google for using Java in Android and keeping the language somewhere around edge of hip and cool. I wonder how long it will be before Google flips to Go or JavaScript for Android.

I don't think anyone has used "hip and cool" and "Java" in the same sentence for at least 15 years (2001) and no amount of Android can fix that.

"Damn, that grotesque-looking android startled me and I spilled my cup of Java all over my hip, fortunately it was cool so I didn't get burnt".

Re: Oracle wants $9.3B for Google’s use of Java in Android

#40
post #7

This case seems unusual in the fact that the code in question was already free to use and fork under the terms of OpenJDK, so paying Oracle for a license was not the only alternative. How would one calculate damages relative to the scenario where Google simply used OpenJDK as they are doing now?

Maybe Google is doing things that the "Classpath Exception" doesn't cover, which would expose them to parts of of the GPL that don't work for them?
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