The Oracle/Google lawsuits, and how it affects choice of language

[Tom Anderson]

Martin Gregorie wrote



Even where standards exist, and even where free versions exists, e.g., C,
Java and SQL, customers occasionally purchase quite expensive implementations
(Oracle's, IBM's), and use the proprietary extensions (Oracle Streaming).
Counterbalancing the risk of vendor lockin is vendor support and the power of
enhanced features.

Exactly. Moreover - it's not just the vendor's proprietary gewgaws, but
about all sorts of other baubles that the language gives you access to.
When you choose a language, you don't just choose a language, you choose
an ecosystem. The java language is decent - it's not Smalltalk, but it's
not C++ either - but its ecosystem is absolutely without equal.

I don't recall everyone going into this kind of tizzy over Sun's suit
against Microsoft for misusing the Java intellectual property.
Everyone cheered Sun then. Now when the new steward of Java does pretty
much the same thing we all get our knickers in a twist.

There's a huge difference. Microsoft's goal was to destroy or control
java. Google just wants to use it.

tom

 

[Joshua Maurice]

I don't recall everyone going into this kind of tizzy over Sun's suit against
Microsoft for misusing the Java intellectual property.  Everyone cheered Sun
then.  Now when the new steward of Java does pretty much the same thing we all
get our knickers in a twist.

That's because they are two different things. Microsoft called
themselves Java but didn't meet the Java spec. Trademark infringement
and/or licensing infringement at least. Google wrote a Java clone, but
never claimed it was Java. Oracle sued Google for of patent
infringement. I suspect most of us on the board love current trademark
law and loathe current patent law.

 

[ClassCastException]

Vous avez raison.

What?

 

[ClassCastException]

I would expect the impact to their bottom line to be around zero.

If it's not expected to be strictly *positive*, why are they bothering
with the suit? The impact is zero if what they get from Google, *plus*
any benefit they get from Google being enjoined from distrubing phone
OSes, exactly (and only) equals the filing and attorney fees they're
paying to mount the lawsuit.

 

[Lew]

What?

You savvy reason.

 

[Mike Schilling]

What?

Lew likes raisins.

 

[Lew]

ClassCastException apparently doesn't speak French. I hope he isn't betting
his career on a single language:

Lew likes raisins.

Just flowing with the currant.

 

[David Lamb]

If it's not expected to be strictly *positive*, why are they bothering
with the suit?

First, they might disagree that the effect on bottom line will be zero.

Second, it may be that their lawyers advised them that *not* going after
Google now would weaken their case against someone later who *does*
affect their bottom line.

 

[ClassCastException]

ClassCastException apparently doesn't speak French. I hope he isn't
betting his career on a single language:



Just flowing with the currant.

Should I mark a date for this?

 

[Simon Brooke]

Should I mark a date for this?

I wouldn't give a fig for it, frankly.

 

[Mike Schilling]

Should I mark a date for this?

Berry good idea.