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OpenSolaris is dead

blogs.everycity.co.uk

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Re: OpenSolaris is dead

#21

Post by neild »

Note that this is not the end of source code releases of Solaris:

We will continue to use the CDDL license statement in nearly all Solaris source code files. We will not remove the CDDL from any files in Solaris to which it already applies, and new source code files that are created will follow the current policy regarding applying the CDDL (simply, that usr/src files will have the CDDL, and the very small minority of files in usr/closed might not have it). Use of other open licenses in non-ON consolidations (e.g. GPL in the Desktop area) will also continue. As before, requests to change the license associated with source code are case-by-case decisions.

We will distribute updates to approved CDDL or other open source- licensed code following full releases of our enterprise Solaris operating system. In this manner, new technology innovations will show up in our releases before anywhere else. We will no longer distribute source code for the entirety of the Solaris operating system in real-time while it is developed, on a nightly basis.

In other words, the Solaris development process is becoming more closed, but you'll still be able to see the source code for any given release. Or at least, that's how I interpret the above.

I'm not in touch enough with Solaris development to know how much of a practical impact this will have--how many non-Sun/Oracle people work on OpenSolaris?

Re: OpenSolaris is dead

#23

Post by moondowner »

motters wrote: post #14

Having never used OpenSolaris this is no hardship for me. However, it's looking like Oracle is a company that is quite hostile to open source, so this also raises concerns for what will happen to the likes of OpenOffice and VirtualBox. In general it also raises questions about the wisdom of open source developers assigning their copyrights over to a particular company, who may subsequently choose to betray their gene…

Don't forget NetBeans, the Rich Client Platform. Lots of applications are built on it (Light Analysis, Energy Consumption Management, Petroleum Engineering App, Swedish Trading Client & Swedish Defense Research App, Open Source Stock Trading Platform, Jewelry Customer Manager -- these are news only from the last 3-4 months), even NASA uses it. It's crucial for Oracle to sustain NetBeans development and not to favour their JDeveloper IDE (cause the latter isn't a platform).

Re: OpenSolaris is dead

#24

Post by bokchoi »

cookiecaper wrote: post #12
dpapathanasiou wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes, I admire Oracle more than the supposed do-gooders at Google. Oracle is a for-profit entity, they will take any legal or tactical advantage they can get (e.g., lawsuit over Java in Android), and they make no bones about it. I don't like everything they do, but you know what you get with them. Google says "don't be evil", yet they back off that principle when it's inconvenient (e.g., caving in to Chinese cen…

The problem with "Don't be evil" is that it's subjective. Google isn't a hardcore idealist because people that refuse to cooperate unless all of their demands are met never really get anywhere (see RMS). Compromise is a fact of life for everyone. Principles shouldn't be compromised, and you have to draw the line, but you also have to cooperate with people who have a different perspective than yourself. I don't see ei…

Being evil is also subjective. For Oracle stockholders and quarterly statements, acting out of self-interest is a good thing.

Re: OpenSolaris is dead

#25

Post by strlen »

nailer wrote: post #22
scaleordie wrote: post #11

If at least ZFS can be salvaged from the wreck...

It won't be. Oracle will keep the CDDL, and use ZFS to market Solaris as a USP over Linux, until (and probably after) btrfs becomes mainstream on Linux.

The btfs developer works at Oracle (and also works on OCFS).

Re: OpenSolaris is dead

#26

Post by nailer »

strlen wrote: post #25
nailer wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It won't be. Oracle will keep the CDDL, and use ZFS to market Solaris as a USP over Linux, until (and probably after) btrfs becomes mainstream on Linux.

The btfs developer works at Oracle (and also works on OCFS).

Good point - that's one thing I wonder about - although nothing's been said, it wouldn't surprise me if Chris Mason left Oracle for IBM or Red Hat.

Re: OpenSolaris is dead

#27

Post by DannoHung »

dpapathanasiou wrote: post #4
martinp wrote: post #2

Since the slogan "don't be evil" is already in use, I'm guessing Oracle is going for "be evil" instead?

Sometimes, I admire Oracle more than the supposed do-gooders at Google. Oracle is a for-profit entity, they will take any legal or tactical advantage they can get (e.g., lawsuit over Java in Android), and they make no bones about it. I don't like everything they do, but you know what you get with them. Google says "don't be evil", yet they back off that principle when it's inconvenient (e.g., caving in to Chinese cen…

So, if we make a Corporate entity as person analogy, you like someone who is unabashedly horrible and perfectly honest about it, rather than someone who tries to be good and is a dick sometimes.

If I were you, I think I would die from cynicism toxicity shock.

Well, either that or you think that all industry should be destroyed because all corporations should invariably end up being perfectly evil.

Re: OpenSolaris is dead

#28

Post by sprout »

cookiecaper wrote: post #12
dpapathanasiou wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes, I admire Oracle more than the supposed do-gooders at Google. Oracle is a for-profit entity, they will take any legal or tactical advantage they can get (e.g., lawsuit over Java in Android), and they make no bones about it. I don't like everything they do, but you know what you get with them. Google says "don't be evil", yet they back off that principle when it's inconvenient (e.g., caving in to Chinese cen…

The problem with "Don't be evil" is that it's subjective. Google isn't a hardcore idealist because people that refuse to cooperate unless all of their demands are met never really get anywhere (see RMS). Compromise is a fact of life for everyone. Principles shouldn't be compromised, and you have to draw the line, but you also have to cooperate with people who have a different perspective than yourself. I don't see ei…

>because people that refuse to cooperate unless all of their demands are met never really get anywhere (see RMS).

RMS would be a clear counterexample. (See Linux, GNU utils, the recent GPLv3 release of Castle Wolfenstein, and many many other victories.) It's a curious sort of logic that says a hardline stance is ineffective because 100% of his goals aren't meant.

Not that moderates don't also serve a purpose, but the radicals are an absolute necessity.

Re: OpenSolaris is dead

#29

Post by nailer »

bokchoi wrote: post #24
cookiecaper wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with "Don't be evil" is that it's subjective. Google isn't a hardcore idealist because people that refuse to cooperate unless all of their demands are met never really get anywhere (see RMS). Compromise is a fact of life for everyone. Principles shouldn't be compromised, and you have to draw the line, but you also have to cooperate with people who have a different perspective than yourself. I don't see ei…

Being evil is also subjective. For Oracle stockholders and quarterly statements, acting out of self-interest is a good thing.

Most of Oracle's moves are short term plays. Growing the Java and Unix industries would allow them to sell boxes. These do the opposite, in favor of making cash now.

Re: OpenSolaris is dead

#30

Post by dpapathanasiou »

DannoHung wrote: post #27
dpapathanasiou wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes, I admire Oracle more than the supposed do-gooders at Google. Oracle is a for-profit entity, they will take any legal or tactical advantage they can get (e.g., lawsuit over Java in Android), and they make no bones about it. I don't like everything they do, but you know what you get with them. Google says "don't be evil", yet they back off that principle when it's inconvenient (e.g., caving in to Chinese cen…

So, if we make a Corporate entity as person analogy, you like someone who is unabashedly horrible and perfectly honest about it, rather than someone who tries to be good and is a dick sometimes. If I were you, I think I would die from cynicism toxicity shock. Well, either that or you think that all industry should be destroyed because all corporations should invariably end up being perfectly evil.

You are describing a false dichotomy.

My comment was less an expression of admiration for Oracle than disdain for Google.

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