Free Java in Ubuntu 8.04LTS; Coming soon to Fedora 9
Last week, with the release of Ubuntu 8.04LTS, came the debut of the JDK in Ubuntu's Universe repository.
Universe? So What?
While the JDK had been in Ubuntu's Multiverse before, getting into Universe meant having JDK packages based on OpenJDK6 that were 100% free. This was made possible by the work of a lot of people at Sun and the community (most notably the folks at Fedora cranking on IcedTea).
The effort to produce the Free implementation started in earnest, as Mark Reinhold points out, last summer when Joe Darcy began creating a Free software "JDK6 code base by removing new features from a clone of the JDK 7 code and then gradually working through the remaining encumbrances and other issues."
Having a Free implementation of the JDK also opens the doors for packages that depend on a JDK being in Universe, one example being NetBeans, which also made its Universe debut in 8.04LTS.
Fedora Next
Free Java also means that Fedora 9 which is due out in a couple of weeks on May 13, will also be able to include an OpenJDK implementation (Fedora, unlike Ubuntu, only accepts Free software). Specifically, according to Lillian at Red hat's blog, the java-1.6.0-openjdk package will replace java-1.7.0-icedtea that was in Fedora 8. Check out the details here on the Fedora wiki. More hoopla to come on the actual release of Fedora 9.
Mahalo Doko
A huge shout-out to Doko, aka Matthias Klose, the Ubuntu Java ubermensch who did the actual packaging of OpenJDK and
then went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that the latest
versions of GlassFish and JavaDB made it into 8.04LTS as well.
Doko and me in an Edinburgh pub last summer at Debconf7. I owe him a few more of what he's holding in his hand.
Java in Ubuntu -- A Trip down Memory Lane
The JDK first appeared in Ubuntu two years ago in the 6.06LTS release and was made possible by the DLJ (Distribution License for Java) which made Java technology redistributable. One release later, the JDK was joined in Multiverse by some of its buddies: GlassFish, NetBeans and JavaDB. In 7.10, the "Java Stack" while still in Multiverse was made up of rev'd component pieces. And now with 8.04LTS, NetBeans and the JDK are both in Universe and GlassFish and Java DB have been updated.
Stay tuned for Intrepid Ibex and see where Java lands next!
*in backport
Want More?
- To literaly hear the details behind this cool event, check out this podcast Rich Sands, Bruno Souza and I did with the Java Posse.
- Check out the press release.
- Gilles joy at OpenJDK in Ubuntu
Pau for now...
The Java story in Ubuntu (and Linux in general) certainly has improved greatly in the last year! That doesn't mean there aren't many improvement still needed, but that probably deserves a separate post.
It seemed odd the javadb was in multiverse, since it is essentially apache derby, which you would expect in universe. So I went looking, and in 8.04LTS I didn't find an apache derby package, but I found 2 javadb packages:
http://packages.ubuntu.com/hardy/sunwderby
http://packages.ubuntu.com/hardy/sun-java6-javadb
Posted by James Stansell on May 01, 2008 at 09:22 AM CDT #
Barton, the point I was trying to make at CommunityOne was about the relevance of this situation to the target audience. Who? Developers.
Developers who wait for named releases are always there, but many like to work with early bits.
This is why I think it is a bit of a mistake on OpenJDK-the-project's part to not have announced the presence of IcedTea 7 (OpenJDK 7 minus encumbered code) in Fedora 8, and the presence of OpenJDK 6 in Fedora 9 Preview. The Fedora 9 preview (http://fedoraproject.org/get-prerelease) is very well baked and could have been on people's systems for some time already. Another major milestone is OpenJDK 6 in EPEL 5 (http://developer.redhatmagazine.com/2008/05/06/how-to-get-openjdk-6-for-red-hat-enterprise-linux-5/ .) I'm working through some existing contacts to get that updated on http://openjdk.java.net. I'm just surprised that it didn't occur to the folks running OpenJDK to point at the availability of their work in the Linux distro associated with significant OpenJDK developers.
The days of the golden ISO descended from heaven is really over. Now it's just up to us to spread the word. ;-)
Posted by Karsten Wade on May 07, 2008 at 06:10 PM CDT #