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Great summary. I think Google's Dalvik is quite similar to the unlicensed, unauthorized, crippled JVM that Microsoft shipped with Windows for a while (in an eff
by sutro 16y ago
Great summary. I think Google's Dalvik is quite similar to the unlicensed, unauthorized, crippled JVM that Microsoft shipped with Windows for a while (in an effort to subvert Java) which drew them into a lawsuit with Sun that Sun won. Google wants to have their cake and eat it too -- a development platform broadly accessible to all Java developers, but without having to pay anything or concede any third-party ownership or provenance. Google isn't doing the Java community any favors by forking the platform and muddying the waters. I don't think Google is on firm legal or moral ground. If Oracle's lawsuit helps prevent a UNIX-style balkanization of Java then I'm all for it.
- dlevine 16y agoExcept that Dalvik isn't a JVM. The Microsoft JVM actually executed Java bytecode with some proprietary additions, which ran afoul of Sun's licensing terms. Dalvik executes dex files, and does so in a completely different manner than a JVM does.
- tdurden 16y agoimplementation detail
- bad_user 16y agoMicrosoft was sued because of contract violations. There is no contract between Google and Sun to speak of. There is no license to defend. That's why the lawsuit is about patents. > If Oracle's lawsuit helps prevent a UNIX-style balkanization of Java then I'm all for it. Yeah, it's like they thought about you and your needs when they started this, and not about those 10 billion USD which they want.
- anigbrowl 16y agoOK, but why didn't Sun open source Java before Oracle took them over? And why were Oracle urging them to do so?