Sun-java6 packages removed soon from Debian/Ubuntu (and all other linux distros)
sylvestre.ledru.info
sylvestre.ledru.info
It is not a drop in replacement that is a bit slower, it is incomplete and I'm tired of people not understanding this. There are things it cannot do and software it cannot run.
I strongly advise anyone who targets Oracle's JDK to switch to OpenJDK.
1- the proprietary implementation is the dominant one and the open implementation must lag behind its roadmap.
2- the open implementation is dominant and the proprietary vendors who want to compete with it have to offer a superset of its functionality in order to compete.
In case 1, you are at the mercy of the proprietary implementor (in this case, Oracle). In case 2, everybody is free to steer the evolution of the standard without fear of getting isolated in an incompatible niche.
And Oracle's #1 priority is Oracle's profit. They'll get it even if it means turning your life into hell.
It makes it incredibly easy to create an rpm/deb/etc. from a directory, rpm, npm, gem, python module, etc.
Here's a BayLISA video about it: http://vimeo.com/23940598
So it should be a little more straightforward. Of course, when yoiu roll your own package, you don't get automatic security updates, so that's still a pain.
dosen't seem to be available in debian stable, but i see it in my ubuntu 10.04.
last time i used it i needed to modify (couple of lines) to accommodate file name used by modern java versions. it works well as far as i can tell.
openjdk is a far more sustainable solution but we needed sun java for some proprietary crap that refused to run on java or tomcat from the repos.
My naïve self would have thought to try and reduce the reliance on java, but of course the cost (of any type) would outweigh any potential benefit.
You must be careful, however, because not every Java
platform is free. Sun continues distributing an executable
Java platform which is nonfree, and other companies do so
too.
The free environment for Java is called IcedTea; the
source code Sun freed is included in that. So that is the
one you should use. Many GNU/Linux distributions come with
IcedTea, but some include nonfree Java platforms.
To reliably ensure your Java programs run fine in a free
environment, you need to develop them using IcedTea.
Theoretically the Java platforms should be compatible, but
they are not compatible 100 percent.
It's sad, very sad, but it's the way Oracle works.
They're also destroying Solaris the same way.
(In general, I don't think it has a big impact in either direction)
"Linux users who prefer to use the thoroughly tested Oracle JDK 6 or Oracle JDK 7 binaries over OpenJDK builds packaged in their Linux distributions of choice can of course as usual simply get the gratis download at http://oracle.com/java under the same terms as users on other platforms."
So it seems only like a license change, is that true?
"Can't we just make an easy installer for Sun JDK?" "No, we're just going to take this opportunity to make our own open source project better."
This sort of crap is why Linux is NOT ready for prime time.
And that's what they fear the most.
The problem here is not GNU/Linux, but Oracle playing politics (again). The result is that they will continue to alienate developers, while their cash cow won't suffer in the short term (hackers aren't responsible for the majority of their business, business-type decision makers are). The decision to focus on an open alternative instead of working around Oracle's antics is what makes GNU/Linux what it is. GNU/Linux isn't just a practical piece of software, but also an idea. That being said, focussing developer time on the OpenJDK seems like a pragmatic move from a practical point of view as well, because licensing reasons are not something you can just ignore when convenient (without exposing your users to a possible lawsuit from Oracle).
And that is why it is the preferred one! For enterprise stuff you have to have the "more polished" one.
For example, I work on browser-hosted user interfaces that sometimes rely on Java applets. I don't know why an applet frequently doesn't work with IcedTea. All I hear back via customers-of-clients is "Your interface doesn't work on Linux".
The advice to uninstall IcedTea and replace it with Sun's (OK, Oracle's) version is now as routine to our client's support people as telling someone with Windows troubles to reboot was a few years ago. That answer has a 100% success rate with these "bugs" so far, so I don't suppose those support staff are going to change their policy any time soon.
As a software developer, I appreciate that this is not at all helpful to those working on OpenJDK/IcedTea. However, as a guy whose rent is paid by what he earns from his clients, I can't recommend that anyone use IcedTea for anything until its well-deserved (in our experience) reputation for poor reliability is addressed.
Actually, you need the one built better, with better and longer term support. There is a lot of enterprisey stuff running on Java 1.2 out there.
If you are interested in such issues, you are probably aware that Oracle has made the openjdk-7 the base target development of the JVM. Proprietary versions (sun-java7 is you will) are based on the free version. This is the opposite of the current version (6).
If we do not encourage users to switch to the Openjdk, bugs won't be fixed in the 6 or 7 for a while.
Seems like the same thought process at work that brought us cruft like the Unity UI in 11.04, then forced it on users as default, instead of just offering it as a new, less-stable alternative.