Sun to finally open-source Java ?

It is expected that within the next 10 or 11 months Sun will publish the code of its Java programming language although Simon Phipps, Sun's chief open source officer, has responded that it wouldn't be happening that soon.

Sun has been criticized a lot for not making this step for so long but Phipps has pointed as one of the main reasons for not open-sourcing Java, the fact that it is a standard and Sun had a responsibility to make sure it was well-maintained.

Some think that it is a little too late but it's still the right move because other Web scripting languages like PHP and Ruby on Rails are starting to erode Java's importance. Many think that Java will get even more powerful as a result of the contribution from the open-source community.

Furthermore, many reckon that Sun is in the process of open-sourcing almost all of its software.

Source: BusinessWeek