Sun to offer Java under Linux-friendly licence

After years of requests and debates, Sun Microsystems is set to release Java source code under a Linux-friendly licence.

It plans to put the code for the programming software under version 2 of the General Public Licence (GPLv2), which governs Linux and many other open source products. The Sun-hosted Java.net website will provide access to Java Platform Micro Edition software for mobile phones and Java Platform Standard Edition (Java SE) software for desktop applications.

Sun has already open sourced its server-side Java Platform Enterprise Edition software in a project called GlassFish. But it is now making that same software available under the GPLv2, rather than the Sun-conceived Community Development and Distribution Licence.

The move will promote Java and make it easier to bundle with Linux, said Rich Green, Sun's executive vice president of software.

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Green said: "This is a milestone for the whole industry. Not only are we making an influential and widely used software platform for the web available under an open source licence, it also underscores Sun's commitment to changing the whole industry model for how software is enhanced and developed."

The nature of the GPL is that additions to software available under the GPL must also use the licence. So a developer who writes an application using the open source Java software could be obliged by the GPL to also release that newly created application as open source.

However, Sun is employing the so-called "classpath exception", a licence addition that allows the company to place limits on the software the GPL covers, Green said.

The effect is that programmers who create applications using Sun's open source versions of Java can choose a different licence for their applications, he said.

He added: "In the case of Java SE, we're enhancing [the GPL] with the classpath exception. So when you're working on top or shipping applications with the [Java] libraries and virtual machine, you're not affected by the Java licence."

In addition, Java creator Sun will continue to offer a commercial licence, a "dual-licence" structure that gives other software vendors legal indemnification and official standards certification.

Green said that open sourcing Java under the GPL will appeal to developers, particularly those familiar with Linux and its legal underpinnings.

Martin LaMonica writes for CNET News.com